Nishikori OK, early arrival in London for World Tour Finals

Kei Nishikori plans to arrive in London one week early for the World Tour Finals after retiring from the Paris Masters because of a back injury.

Agent Olivier R. van Lindonk says Saturday that Nishikori will start practicing next week to get ready for the last tournament of the season, which begins November 15 at the O2 Arena and features the top eight players.

Lindonk says the Japanese star "pulled his back a little" and went to doctors in Paris. He says the tests came back fine and he's "OK for London."

The seventh-ranked Nishikori retired Tuesday from the Paris Masters while trailing Richard Gasquet 7-6 (3), 4-1.

Nishikori and David Ferrer booked the final two spots available at the elite event, joining Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Roger Federer, Stan Wawrinka, Rafael Nadal and Tomas Berdych.

(Sources from Philstar.com and Philippinemavericks.com)