Kei Nishikori was handed a walkover to round four of the French Open after Benjamin Becker withdrew due to a shoulder injury on Thursday.

Fifth seed Nishikori has only reached the round of 16 at Roland Garros once in four previous appearances and was knocked out in the first round by Martin Klizan 12 months ago.

However, the Japanese - a finalist at the US Open in 2014 - will have the chance to reach the quarter-finals after Roland Garros' official Twitter account confirmed Becker had pulled out.

Nishikori took the time to wish his stricken opponent well, writing on Twitter: "Very sorry to hear about Benjamin being injured. I hope he recovers fast."

Next up for Nishikori is the winner of the contest between Lukas Rosol and Teymuraz Gabashvili.