Kei Nishikori advances to French Open fourth round after Benjamin Becker withdraws

Coach Michael Chang (C) watches Kei Nishikori of Japan during his Men's Singles match against Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil

Paris, May 28: Japanese tennis star Kei Nishikori qualified on Thursday for the fourth round of the French Open without stepping foot on the court, as his scheduled German opponent Benjamin Becker defaulted with a shoulder injury.

"Benjamin Becker withdraws with right shoulder injury, Nishikori advances to R16. Wishing Benjamin a speedy recovery," the official French Open account tweeted.

To overcome his best in the Grand Slam, fifth-seeded Nishikori will have to beat in the next round the winner of the match between 43rd-seeded Czech player Lukas Rosol and Russia's 74th-seeded Teymuraz Gabashvili, reports Efe.

Becker was able to take a lengthy match on Wednesday against Spain's Fernando Verdasco, winning 6-4, 0-6, 1-6, 7-5, 10-8.