Japan's Kei Nishikori retired from his French Open tennis second-round match with a sore right shoulder Thursday after dropping the first two sets to rising U.S. star Ben Shelton 7-6(7), 6-4.
The injury-plagued former world No. 4, who was playing his first Grand Slam since the 2021 U.S. Open, decided to stop as the match was interrupted by rain after the second set.
Shelton hit 33 winners, while racking up nine aces to Nishikori's none.
Nishikori's loss left no Japanese in the men's or women's singles draw at Roland Garros.
"The pain began to increase midway through the second set," Nishikori said. "Maybe I could play one more set...When I thought I had to win all three sets from there, I made the decision out of concern over aggravating the hurt area."
"I just hope I won't be sidelined for a long period."
The match had been suspended the previous day due to rain after a lengthy delay.
In other action, defending champion Novak Djokovic advanced to the third round with a 6-4, 6-1, 6-2 victory over Spain's Roberto Carballes Baena. Fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev also moved on.
Moyuka Uchijima, currently the highest-ranked Japanese woman at 83rd, went down to second-seeded Belarusian Aryna Sabalenka 6-2, 6-2.
