18-year-old advances Japanese wild card Kei Nishikori, 18, ailing with a sore throat and aching knee, reached the Stockholm (Sweden ) Open semifinals Friday when secondseeded Mario Ancic withdrew because of fever. “I wanted to play the match somehow,” Nishikori said. “Now I’ve got a day to rest and I’m sure I can play. It’s the semifinals. It’s big for me.” Nishikori will play fourth-seeded Robin Soderling, who defeated fifth-seeded Rainer Schuettler of Germany 6-2, 7-5. Nishikori has jumped 212 spots to a No. 77 ranking since the beginning of the year. He won his first ATP title at Delray Beach, Fla., early this year to become the first Japanese singles winner on the tour since 1992. Top-seeded David Nalbandian beat seventh-seeded Albert Montanes 6-4, 6-1 and thirdseeded Jarkko Nieminen beat Oscar Hernandez 6-1, 6-4.
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