Kei Nishikori under Mental Stress

Kei Nishikori is not as peppy as he should be this time around. He missed Swiss Indoors starting October 26 and is left with only one more regular tour in Paris Masters starting November 2.

Nishikori started this season at 5th in ranking but exhibited a lack of concentration in all-important games and is not yet eligible for the tour final.
Nishikori currently ranks 5th in the world ranking but is tied for 7th in the tour final ranking. 1400 points apart from the players below 9th,

Nishikori would likely cinch his participation in the tour final for two years in a row unless Richard Gasquet, 9th, should win all of his games and Nishikori drop out in Paris in early rounds.

Nishikori is not in top shape. Fans recall his performance at US Open against Benoît Paire in the first round. Nishikori held the match point but lost the fourth set and went on to lose the match. At Rakuten Japan Open in October, Nishikori reacted negatively at the possibility of playing against Paire in the quester final: "I would rather not play with him. I've got a bad memory". The surface is different, so is the fall. Paire didn't really crash him in US Open and he was quite fit physically. And yet he wasn't mentally ready to play against Paire.

Paire is a strange tennis player, no doubt. He will break his rackets by habit, and at Rakuten Open he had only one racket to play against Nishikori. He had his torn shoes all taped up. His play is often unpredictable and irritating for his opponents.

Nishikori grabbed the first game in a jiffy. But in the second set he broke down somehow and dropped it after missing five breakpoints. Nishikori commented after the lost game:

"I couldn't go on attacking. I lost the game on my own account. I was calm enough, but......".

That all explains Nishikori's state of mind throughout the game and accounts for his state of mind mental stress.