Kei Nishikori withdraws from Wimbledon with left calf injury

No. 5 seed Kei Nishikori has withdrawn from play at Wimbledon prior to his second-round match Wednesday due to a left calf injury.

Last year's U.S. Open runner-up was set to face 28th-ranked Santiago Giraldo of Colombia after needing five sets to get past Simone Bolelli of Italy in the first round Monday.

Nishikori had the calf wrapped two weeks ago while playing at the Gerry Weber Open in Halle, Germany, where he lost in the semifinals to Andreas Seppi. The top-ranked Japanese player in history told reporters he hasn't fully recovered.

"I thought it was really going to be okay," Nishikori said. "But (in my) last match in the fifth set I was hurting too much. I try this two days, and warmup today. But it was hurting just walking and running, so I decided not to play."

Despite the setback, Nishikori is confident he'll be healthy enough to play the hardcourt season in time to defend the 1,200 ATP rankings points he gained last year in his first Grand Slam final.

''I think the injury should be okay for next tournaments,'' Nishikori said.