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Thursday, 1st September 2011
In Japan Sports News,
Japan's tennis chances are 'injured'
The chances of a Japanese tennis star taking the title at Flushing Meadows has dropped dramatically as three players had to pull out due to injury.
The first to be hit by the spurt of bad fortune was 21-year-old Kei Nishikori, who had to retire from his first-round match against Italy's Flavio Cipolla.
It was the second year in the row that Nishikori had to pull out of the competition, and in this case, it was a back complaint that sent him packing.
He told the Mainichi Daily: "My back hurt even when I moved a little bit.
"I wish I could win in straight sets. But he played persistently and the pain got worse, so I quit."
The tennis star also admitted that his enthusiasm for previous ATP events in the run up to the US Open might also have affected his health.
"I played matches in five consecutive days, and that got me tired. That's why I ended up retiring here. I'm very upset," he told the news provider.
Meanwhile, just two hours after Nishikori's disappointment, Misaki Doi followed a similar defeat as she was hindered by a right thigh injury.
In her battle against Spain's Laura Pous, the 20-year-old was struggling to make gains on her opponent who was leading 6-2, 6-7, 5-2, before Doi retired.
The left-handed star's current WTA ranking stands at 104.
It was then Ayumi Morita's turn to tackle the plague which seemed to be harassing the Japanese players.
In her fight against Britain's Laura Robson, the 21-year-old was trailing 1-0 in the second set before she had to throw in the towel when an injury in her right shoulder surfaced.
Hopes in the men's singles event were further dashed when Go Soeda was beaten by South Africa's Kevin Anderson.
The player from Fujjsawa suffered a 6-1, 6-3, 6-0 defeat.
Posted by Mark Smith
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