Kei Nishikori Withdraws from 2018 Australian Open

Kei Nishikori will not play in the 2018 Australian Open because he is not ready to return from a right wrist injury that has sidelined him since August.

Kei Nishikori's agent says the 2014 U.S. Open runner-up is pulling out of the Australian Open.

Olivier van Lindonk says in an email Wednesday that Nishikori is not ready to play best-of-five-set matches as he returns from an injured right wrist that has sidelined him since August.

The Australian Open begins Jan. 15.

Nishikori has been a top-10 player who was the first man from Japan to reach a major final when he made it that far at the U.S. Open in 2014. He also reached the semifinals at Flushing Meadows in 2016.

But he missed the U.S. Open last year because of his wrist, snapping a streak of appearing in 21 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments.

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