Nishikori battles through calf problem

Japan's Kei Nishikori returns a shot to Simone Bolelli of Italy in the first round match at Wimbledon on Monday. - EPA

LONDON (Reuters) - A five-set Wimbledon first-round match lasting almost three and a half hours was not what Kei Nishikori needed on Monday as he nursed a sore calf strain.

But what the Japanese hero wanted mattered little to Simone Bolelli as the Italian kept giving Nishikori and his stricken calf the run around until the fifth seed prevailed 6-3 6-7(4) 6-2 3-6 6-3.