Kei Nishikori suddenly withdraws from compatriot clash at Miami Open two hours before

The Japanese tennis fraternity had a surprise tie as Kei Nishikori was set to face his compatriot Yoshihito Nishioka but that did not happen as the former had to withdraw a mere two hours before at the Miami Open.

Nishikori was set to face Nishioka in the second match on the Grandstand court but his last minute withdrawal meant that Hugo Gaston has now been drafted in to play Nishioka.

The former World No.4 took to social media to confirm the news. This is perhaps no surprise given that he played until the semi-finals last week in Phoenix. He lost out to Joao Fonseca.

Fonseca went on to win the title and will return later today to face off against Learner Tien. “Unfortunately I have to pull out of the @MiamiOpen today,” the Japanese star wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter).

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“My body has not recovered enough from the matches last week. I will now go home and get ready for the clay court season.”

Nishikori is of course now 35 so it takes more of a toll on him. He has struggled in recent years but has shown this year that he still has the minerals to play at the top reaching the Hong Kong Open final in January.

He also previously won the title in Palmas del Mar back in 2023 having been unranked at the time and has surged back into the top 70 in the world. But of course playing every week is a task for someone of his age in order to remain fresh and healthy.

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