Ancic withdraws from Stockholm, Nishikori into semis
NBTA alum Kei Nishikori advanced to the semifinals at Stockholm today as his quarterfinal opponent, Mario Ancic, was forced to pull out. According to the tournament website, Ancic has bronchitis and a fever. Nishikori will now face either fourth-seeded Robin Soderling or fifth-seeded Rainer Schuettler in the semifinals.
This is another tough break for Mario. He has been sick off and on all year, and another illness just when he looked like he was starting to play a bit better.
For Nishikori, this is his first ATP semi since he won the title at Delray Beach back in February. He came into the tournament ranked a career high of #77 in the world, and will certainly continue to climb the rankings with this performance. If he gets to #45 in the world, he will become the highest ranked Japanese male in tennis history.
Good luck to Kei in the next round!
Nishikori’s got a luck! We all excited about his sensation.
I cannot wait for the next match. Comoooon, Nishikori!!!
Robin overwhelmed Nishikori this time. I want Nishikori to take some rest to heal his injury for a while. Do you know how serious his knee injury is, Nick? OR Does anybody know about that?
I’m just worried.
Not sure on Kei’s injury. He has been going strong now for a couple of weeks and when you combine that with the travel and the pressure of playing in front of the home fans in Japan it can be tiring for anyone.
Thank you for the reply. I appreciate that:-)
Yeah, I kind of understand Nishikori’s situation now.
I think Kei did very well. He is just 18 and trying many things. Please take good care of him, Nick! By the way, Yuki won the title in Japan. He has got some blisters on his hand, it seems. They are good friends, right? You’ve got wonderful players!!