Nishikori into last 16 in Paris after Becker pull-out

Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori reached the French Open fourth round on Thursday when scheduled last-32 opponent Benjamin Becker withdrew with a shoulder injury.

"Benjamin Becker withdraws with right shoulder injury, Nishikori advances to R16. Wishing Benjamin a speedy recovery," tweeted the official Roland Garros website.

Nishikori will face either Lukas Rosol of the Czech Republic or Teymuraz Gabashvili of Russia for a place in the quarter-finals.

"Very sorry to hear about Benjamin being injured. I hope he recovers fast," tweeted Nishikori, who also made the fourth round in 2013.

Becker, 33, needed two gruelling five-setters to get to the third round, seeing off Ruben Bemelmans of Belgium and Spanish 32nd seed Fernando Verdasco.
Source: AFP