Top seed Kei Nishikori was forced to withdraw during his match against Portugal’s Joao Sousa in the second round of the Japan Open.
The top seed initially appeared to be injury free as he hit a series of winners to clinch a 3-0 lead before he was troubled by pain in his lower back region. Nishikori received a duo of media treatments to tackle the problem, but he was eventually forced to withdraw after just seven games.
Nishikori’s retirement comes three months after he was forced to withdraw from the Wimbledon Championships due to a rib injury. It is the first time in Nishikori’s career that he has had to retire during a match in his home country.
Following Nishikori out of Tokyo is third seed Tomas Berdych, who lost 7-6(7), 6-1, to Gilles Muller. After what was a close opening set, the Czech player rapidly faded away as he managed to win only eight points on his serve during the second set.
Speaking about his loss to Muller, Berdych admitted that he was feeling fatigued after winning his first title of the year at the Shenzhen Open last week.
“I had some chances to break but he saved those break points and began to play much better,” said Berdych. “Then at the start of the second set, my body was giving me signs that I’ve been playing too much tennis after the last couple of week.”
Fourth seed Marin Cilic avoided the same fate of his two higher ranked rivals by surviving a marathon encounter against Spain’s Fernando Verdasco. The former US Open champion trailed by a set and a break before winning 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Cilic, who was his maiden Masters title in Cincinnati in August, now has a chance to close in on a spot in the ATP Tour Finals in London. Due to Berdych’s exit from the tournament, the Croat can overtake him and be placed ninth in the race if he wins the Tokyo title. Only the top eight will be guaranteed to play in the high value end of year tournament.
The doping debate continues
Besides the misfortunes of the seeds in Tokyo, there was another question dominating the press conferences. In the wake of the news that Maria Sharapova has had her ban reduced by the Court of Arbitration for Sport, both Berdych and Muller have expressed their zero tolerance view towards the use of banned substances.
“Every time I have to take something, I check with others many, many times to make sure it is legal,” Berdych said on Wednesday.
“If it is all clear, I will use it. In the end, no matter who else is involved, you are the player and it is you who is out there playing and performing.”
The viewpoint from the Czech was one that is supported by his conqueror Muller. Speaking about Tuesday’s decision, the 33-year-old warned about the dangers of reducing the sentence.
“Any positive test could be punished. If you reduce the penalty, it sends the wrong message.” The world No.36 said.
