Kei Nishikori withdraws from Sony Open, Novak Djokovic advances to final

Kei Nishikori took down Roger Federer 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) Kei Nishikori on Friday withdrew from the Sony Open

Courtney Nguyen | Mar 28, 2014

Kei Nishikori withdraws from Sony Open, Novak Djokovic advances to final /

Kei Nishikori took down Roger Federer 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the quarterfinals. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

Kei Nishikori on Friday withdrew from the Sony Open with a left-groin injury, sending Novak Djokovic into Sunday's final.

Nishikori needed three sets to defeat both No. 5 Roger Federer and No. 4 David Ferrer on back-to-back days to advance to the semifinals. But it appears the 48 hours of rest weren't enough to recover from the more than five hours he spent on court during both matches combined.

Nishikori wrote a message to fans on Facebook:

Very sorry to say that I have to pull out today. Very disappointed and I am obviously very sorry for any fans that wanted to come out for this match. This tournament is very special to me and look forward to coming back in the years to come. I will work with my medical team to be back healthy as soon as possible.

Published Mar 28, 2014

COURTNEY NGUYEN

Contributor, SI.com Nguyen is a freelance writer for SI.com, providing full coverage of professional tennis both on and off the court. Her content has become a must-read for fans and insiders to stay up-to-date with a sport that rarely rests. She has appeared on radio and TV talk shows all over the world and is one of the co-hosts of No Challenges Remaining, a weekly podcast available on iTunes. Nguyen graduated from the University of California, Irvine in 1999 and received a law degree from the University of California, Davis in 2002. She lives in the Bay Area.