Kei Nishikori pulls out of Wimbledon with a calf injury

Kei Nishikori couldn’t recover from his calf injury

World No. 5 Kei Nishikori has withdrawn from the 2015 Wimbledon Championships due to a left calf injury.

The Japanese was slated to play Columbia’s Santiago Giraldo on center court in the evening. Nishikori came into Wimbledon after retiring in his match against Andreas Seppi in the Gerry Weber Open. The No. 5 seed did win a tough five-setter against Simone Bolelli on Monday, but looked in trouble as he was serving at 5-3 in the decider.

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

Nishikori practiced 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.”

With Nishikori’s walkover, Giraldo will play the winner of the match between American Denis Kudla and Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the third round.

World No 5 Kei Nishikori has pulled out with the calf injury that he suffered in Halle. #Wimbledon

— Stuart Fraser (@stu_fraser) July 1, 2015

Get well soon, @keinishikori #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/EANkpSIFXh

— Wimbledon (@Wimbledon) July 1, 2015

@keinishikori's withdrawal means Marin Cilic v Ricardas Berankis will now be second on Centre Court #Wimbledon pic.twitter.com/kGWYWaVPIq

— Menzi Kulati (@menzikulati) July 1, 2015