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Kei Nishikori was walking past Marinko Matosevic, ready to switch ends after winning the first set 6-4. The Australian stopped him near the umpire's chair.
Matosevic couldn't continue, not with a bone bruise in his right foot making each step simply too painful.
Matosevic retired 37 minutes into his semifinal against Nishikori on Saturday, sending the Japanese player to the final of the U.S. National Indoor Championships. Nishikori called the quick end surprising because he didn't know Matosevic was injured.
"He was playing really well from the beginning and he broke my serve in the beginning 2-love," Nishikori said. "He was playing well, I thought. So I didn't think about he was retiring. Yeah, he's playing well this week. ... Things happen. But yeah, lucky for me to play just one set and feel fresh for tomorrow so I think it's good."
On Sunday, Nishikori will face Feliciano Lopez of Spain, a 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 winner over Denis Istomin of Uzbekistan. Lopez will be seeking his third title in his eighth career ATP final after a match he thought he had won with an ace -- even preparing to shake hands with the chair umpire -- only to replay the point because of a let ruling.
Read more http://espn.go.com/tennis/story/_/i...ic-pulls-memphis-kei-nishikori-advances-final
