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Fifth seed Kei Nishikori pulls out of Wimbledon

25-year-old Japanese pulls out of second round match with a left calf injury

Kei Nishikori has pulled out of his second round match at Wimbledon with a calf injury. Photograph: Reuters
Kei Nishikori has pulled out of his second round match at Wimbledon with a calf injury. Photograph: Reuters
Wed Jul 01 2015 - 13:32

Wimbledon men's fifth seed Kei Nishikori of Japan has pulled out of the tournament due to a left calf injury.

Tournament referee Andrew Jarrett announced Nishikori's withdrawal.

The 25-year-old, who was runner-up at last year's US Open, was due to play Colombia's Santiago Giraldo in the second match on Centre Court on Wednesday.

That second-round match was replaced on the main show court programme by Croatian ninth seed and US Open champion Maric Cilic’s match against Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis.

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Nishikori carried the injury into Wimbledon but won his opening match against Italy's Simone Bolelli in five sets.

“It got better before the first match and I thought it was going to be okay but in the last match, in the fifth set, I was hurting too much,” Nishikori said.

He tried to practice on Wednesday but felt too much pain.

“I decided not to play today,” Nishikori said. “It’s not a big injury, just a little tear.

“It’s very disappointing. I thought I was playing well on grass. I’m unfortunate to lose this chance.”