Injury halts Nishikori bid

KEI NISHIKORI’S Wimbledon dream was interrupted by injury for a second successive year yesterday when the No 5 seed was forced to retire in his fourth-round match against Marin Cilic. The 26-year-old’s box were telling him to quit after losing the opening set 6-1 in just 16 minutes but Nishikori continued until he was 5-1 down in the second. The Japanese player averaged just 96mph with his serve compared with the 121mph by his Croatian opponent and his forfeit after 45 minutes set up a quarter-final between Cilic and Roger Federer. Nishikori, who withdrew in the second round last year with a calf problem, said: ‘Even before the match, I knew it was not going to be easy to play.’

Not up to speed: Injured Nishikori (left) had an average serve of just 96mph while Cilic (top left) was booming them down at 121mph

AVERAGE 1st SERVE SPEEDS