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SONY OPEN TENNISMarch 28, 2014Adam BarrettKei NishikoriMIAMI, FLORIDA ADAM BARRETT: Thank you everybody for coming. Unfortunately we have to announce that Kei has withdrawn from his semifinal match due to an injury. It's sad because of the amount of tennis he's played this week and how well he has played, and I think everybody was really looking forward to the semifinal match, but first and foremost, our concern is the tournament avail to the players. So while, you know, the tournament never wants to lose a match, we fully understand that when a player could not go, he should not try to go, and his first priority should be getting healthy, and the tournament and we hope that he will be back on the court shortly. Q. When did this flare up? Was it against David or Roger or kind of a combination? KEI NISHIKORI: I really felt the last match against Roger, the quarterfinal. I had it before Indian Wells, and I hurt it in Delray. It wasn't 100% yet. Yeah, it's really sad, of course, semifinal in a big tournament. Was really playing well and beating Dimitrov, David, and Roger. I was really excited to play here the semis. But, you know, unfortunately I couldn't moving side to side. Just tried to warm up today, but I couldn't move. Q. You've got to be pretty healthy, right, for Djokovic? KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, sure. I mean, anybody on the other side, and I don't think I can win today. Q. How long do you think you'll be out? KEI NISHIKORI: I don't know. It's not going to be like surgery bad, but it's still‑‑ you know, I'm feeling it, so I have got to see a doctor right now. Q. Have you planned or have you withdrawn from your next tournament, which I don't know... KEI NISHIKORI: It's going to be Davis Cup. I'm going to go back to see a doctor in Japan and see how bad it is. And I don't know if I can play or not, but I will try. You know, I will see (indiscernible). Q. When did it start bothering you? KEI NISHIKORI: From the match against Roger, but I had it before. I withdraw Delray, same spot. It's been a month. Q. What kind of news is this back home, that you reached the semifinal of a Masters 1000, how big of a deal because of this? KEI NISHIKORI: I don't know. I'm not sure. I don't get much news, see the news, but, yeah, for me it was biggest tournament of these couple years, I think, you know, to reach semifinal here, Masters. That was kind of my goal to go this far in these big tournaments. And to beat Roger again was big confidence I got. Q. Are you flying out? Are you leaving soon for Japan? KEI NISHIKORI: I don't know. It's possible, but... Q. Did you talk this over with your coaches, like Michael or your coach here, like, I know I'm hurt, I can't play? KEI NISHIKORI: I mean, of course I was talking to my team, my trainer, my coach, and, you know, tried to get recover yesterday and a lot of work today with trainer, but didn't get better. It's really tough to get better in one or two days. So, you know, I tried to get better, but I couldn't. Q. Did you take anything? Are you taking any painkillers or anything? KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, I did everything I can. Q. Adam, what was Novak doing when he found out, and what was his reaction? ADAM BARRETT: I have not talked to Novak today. Upon hearing the news, our concern was to notify our fans and our guests, the media, as soon as possible, come up with a policy that we can provide them information, at least our team. As soon as we heard about an hour, hour and a half ago, implementing a plan to really notify the people that are on their way to the site to try to let them know before they come to the site so they have a choice whether to come or not, if they have parking, before they spend money for parking so they know. Our immediate concern was really to the fans, to the media, the withdrawal of the match. Q. Is there any kind of refund policy for people today? ADAM BARRETT: We have a ticket exchange policy that we put out. Sam then distributes so everybody has it. We do exchange tickets, but it will be for next year. Unfortunately for the fans of this session, unfortunately for the tournament, we don't have tickets available for the men's semifinal tonight or the men's finals. We have very limited availability before Saturday's women's final. So not enough to take care of. It's really the same policy that we did two years ago when, in this very session, we had the Rafa Nadal withdrawal. Q. What time was the decision made that Kei was not going to play? ADAM BARRETT: About an hour and a half ago. Time has stood still since I got the news. I haven't looked at my watch. Q. I just wondered how far ahead of the match was scheduled. Couple hours? Two‑and‑a‑half hours? ADAM BARRETT: I think it was right after he did his prematch hit and realized that he wasn't going to or was trying to see if he could get onto the court. He was talking it over with his team whether he felt he could or could not get on the court, if it was in the best interest of both him and the tournament. He made the decision I think that's best for him, which is very, very important. Q. Sometimes when this has happened you brought in fun exhibitions. Was there no time for that, or is that a possibility? ADAM BARRETT: There's really no time for that. Our goal was ‑‑ because you can never replace a match, especially a match of this caliber, a match that people were looking forward to involving the No. 2 player in the world, involving Kei who has had an unbelievable run, beating four seeds on the way to the semifinals, including Dimitrov, Ferrer, Federer, and there is nothing that replaces that. It was providing the information. It's either do something right or make sure you get the right information out to your guests. That's what we felt was the best was not to try to replace it but to allow them to exchange their tickets for a future session. Q. Kei, what kind of confidence does this give you for the rest of the year? I know once you get healthy. Just a great tournament like this? KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah, it was a great run for me to beat two top 10 guys. And Dimitrov was also playing well this year. And four good players to beat, it was a good week for me. So I have a lot of confidence, and it's pretty unfortunate to get injured, but this was a very exciting and positive week for me. Q. Have you had this injury before, this specific injury? KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah. Q. Two wins over Federer. Do you think you're getting closer to beating Nadal and Djokovic? KEI NISHIKORI: Yeah. That's what I'm thinking. You know, he's always my idol, Roger, and it was tough condition here. But still, you know, to win three sets against him, it was I think big achievement for me. You know, still, those two guys, two guys are different, strong, but I think I have enough power to play with them and always challenge myself to beat them. I thought it's gonna be great challenge for me today, but hopefully I can play other times. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
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