SEOUL (News Wires) — Britain’s world number eight Cameron Norrie withdrew from the Korea Open on Friday less than an hour before he was due on centre court to face Jenson Brooksby in the quarter-finals as Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka moved into the last four.
Norrie pulled out with illness, according to the ATP, which did not provide further details.
The 27-year-old, who is chasing a spot in the season-ending ATP Finals, had powered his way through the round of 16, beating Kaichi Uchida 6-2 6-2 to comfortably advance.
Speaking after that game, Norrie said he was struggling with jetlag but was looking forward to the quarter-finals, AFP reported.
Norrie is the third seeded player to withdraw from the Korea Open in Seoul, after sixth seed Borna Coric dropped out on Monday and third seed Taylor Fritz withdrew Thursday.
World number two Casper Ruud remains in the tournament as the top seed, as does fourth seed Denis Shapovalov and eighth seed Brooksby.
The American will face Shapovalov in the semi-final on Saturday.
Also, Yoshihito Nishioka earned just the second Top 5 win of his career yesterday, when he upset World No. 2 Casper Ruud 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 to reach the semi-finals at the Eugene Korea Open Tennis Championships.
Competing in Seoul, the Japanese star looked in control throughout the one-hour, 57-minute clash as he outmanoeuvred the Norwegian with his variety, striking 32 winners and committing just 14 unforced errors to earn the biggest win of his season.
The 27-year-old, who downed Daniel Evans and Taro Daniel in straight sets earlier this week, will next play Mackenzie McDonald or American lucky loser Aleksandar Kovacevic as he aims to advance to his second tour-level final of the season. Nishioka enjoyed a run to the championship match in Washington, where he lost to Nick Kyrgios.
The top seed Ruud defeated Nicolas Jarry in his opening match at the ATP 250 event, with his victory earning him qualification for the 2022 Nitto ATP Finals. He was unable to match Nishioka’s consistency, though, in their second ATP Head2Head meeting.
Earlier, fourth seed Denis Shapovalov soared past Moldovan Radu Albot 6-2, 6-2 in 73 minutes. The 23-year-old Canadian did not face a break point and has now improved his quarter-final record this season to 2-3.
Shapovalov, who reached the semi-finals in Dubai in February, will next meet Jenson Brooksby after the eighth-seeded American received a walkover from second seed Cameron Norrie.
Holger Rune showed his fighting qualities at the Sofia Open, earning a comeback win against Lorenzo Sonego to reach his sixth tour-level quarter-final of the season.
In a hard-fought clash, the 19-year-old rallied past the Italian 6-7(1), 6-4, 6-3 in two hours and 19 minutes at the ATP 250 hard-court event.
“I feel very good,” Rune said in his on-court interview. “It was a tough match… Lorenzo won a title last week, so he had a lot of confidence. I took my chances, played well and stayed in the moment, so I am proud.”
The fifth seed struck 38 winners and won 85 per cent of his first-serve points against Sonego, who won the his third tour-level title in Metz last week. Rune will continue his quest for a second tour-level title when plays Ilya Ivashka in the last eight.
The Dane looks to qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals for a second consecutive year. Rune has enjoyed a breakthrough season, highlighted by his maiden tour-level trophy in Munich in May.
Top seed Jannik Sinner continued his standout record in Sofia when he moved past Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-3, 6-4.
The Italian lifted the trophy on his debut in Bulgaria in 2020, before he successfully retained his title last year. In a strong performance against Borges, Sinner hit his watertight groundstrokes with precision and power to advance after 86 minutes.
The 21-year-old now holds a perfect 10-0 record at the ATP 250 event and will look to improve that when he plays Australian Aleksandar Vukic or Fernando Verdasco in the quarter-finals.
Elsewhere, Stefanos Tsitsipas is the fourth player to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals, joining Rafael Nadal, Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud.
The Greek star will make his fourth consecutive appearance at the season finale, which will be held for the second consecutive year at the Pala Alpitour in Turin from 13-20 November.
The 24-year-old clinched his spot yesterday as a result of other matches. Four spots remain in the singles field of the year-end championships.
Tsitsipas captured the Nitto ATP Finals trophy in 2019, when he triumphed at The O2 in London. In that edition, he defeated Dominic Thiem for the trophy.
The Greek has enjoyed a consistent 2022 season. Tsitsipas made a quick start in Australia, where he advanced to the semi-finals of the Australian Open. The Athens native then reached the final in Rotterdam just two weeks later.
Tsitsipas made his biggest splash of the year at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters, where he successfully defended his title to claim his second ATP Masters 1000 trophy.
He continued to excel at that level by reaching the championship match in Rome and Cincinnati, while also lifting an ATP 250 trophy in Mallorca.
The 24-year-old has won 49 matches this season, second on the ATP Tour behind only World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz (52).
