Yoshihito Nishioka has been forced to retire from his first-round match at the US Open after suffering a scary injury.
During the fifth set of his clash against Miomir Kecmanovic, Nishioka collapsed at the back of the court.
He was serving at 0-1 when he appeared to clutch at his left thigh and arm before falling to the ground.
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Officials rushed in to attend to the world No.51 in distressing scenes.
Kecmanovic also went over and sat next to his opponent, while he received care.
“This is very scary,” Tennis_Now tweeted, along with two photos of Nishioka in pain.
“This is horrible to see,” prominent tennis journalist Jose Morgado tweeted.
Nishioka remained on the ground for several minutes before officially retiring, handing Kecmanovic a 7-6(2), 2-6, 5-7, 7-5, 1-0 victory.
While no official injury was given, early reports suggest the Japanese star suffered cramps.
The pair were on court for three and a half hours before the incident occurred.
Nishioka will be left to rue the fourth set when he held two match points when serving at 5-4.
Kecmanovic hit back to claim the set before advancing to a second-round showdown with 18th seed Lorenzo Musetti.
Elsewhere, fourth seed Alexander Zverev has out-duelled fellow German Maximilian Marterer 6-2 6-7 (7-5) 6-3 6-2 in the first round.
Zverev, seeking a debut grand slam title after reaching the Australian Open semis and the Roland Garros final this year, flexed his dominant serve as he blasted 21 aces on Monday.
Unseeded Marterer, the “lucky loser” that entered the year’s final major draw after Emil Ruusuvuori withdrew last week, captured a close second set but was ultimately overpowered by the world No.4.
Zverev looked sharp in the first set, breaking his opponent’s serve in the opening game before Marterer battled back to claim a back-and-forth second set in a tiebreak.
The big-serving Zverev looked frustrated at times, tossing his racket at the start of the third set after committing one of 44 unforced errors.
Zverev called his topsy-turvy performance in the year’s final major a typical opening round for him, and said he expects to shore up his game in upcoming matches.
“I’m not usually the type of player that plays extremely well in first-round matches,” Zverev said, citing an undesirable 11am start.
“I feel like I had a very good practice week so far here. I know that I have good tennis in me, and it’s about showing that on the match court.
“I think my performance will improve over the next few matches.”
The win sets up a second round clash with either Frenchman Alexandre Muller or Australia’s Adam Walton.
Dominic Thiem said he had no regrets about how his career panned out as he bid adieu to the majors following a 6-4 6-2 6-2 first-round defeat by 13th-seeded American Ben Shelton.
– With AAP
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