ter, who was linked with the Reds and Western Force, has spent time with NFL franchise Atlanta Falcons since he left

TOKYO -- Former champions Kei Nishikori and Tomas Berdych lost at the Japan Open on Wednesday.Top-seeded Nishikori was forced to retire with a left glute problem in the first set of his second-round match against Joao Sousa.Third-seeded Berdych fell to Gilles Muller of Luxembourh 7-6 (7), 6-1 in the first round.Nishikori was 3-0 up when he received medical treatment on his left glute while lying face down on the court for several minutes.The 2012 and 2014 champ served two weak double faults in the next game, and appeared in pain when chasing the ball. He held serve, but lost the next three games before calling a halt while leading 4-3 in his first matchup with Sousa.Nishikori, ranked No. 5, saw a doctor after the match, and will have a scan on Thursday.Sousa moved on to face fifth-seeded David Goffin, after the Belgian beat Jiri Vesely 6-3, 7-5.Also, fourth-seeded Marin Cilic rallied to defeat Spanish baseliner Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.Berdych captured his first ATP title of the season when he retained his Shenzhen Open crown in China on Sunday, but his first-round defeat in Tokyo dented his bid for the ATP Finals. He lies ninth in the race for the elite eight-man finals, which hes played for the last six years.A weary Berdych, the 2008 champ, squandered three break points in the sixth game then failed to convert a set-point in the first tiebreaker.After falling 3-0 behind in the second set, the Czech called for a trainer to treat a left glute complaint, and was unable to stop Muller, who fired 12 aces.At the beginning of the second set, my body gave me a bit of a sign Ive been playing a little too much tennis in the last couple of weeks, Berdych said.Muller, a two-time finalist this year, next faces Marcos Baghdatis.Berdych and Muller believed Maria Sharapova was lucky to have her two-year doping ban reduced to 15 months.Anyone who gives a positive test should get punished. Should they get a reduction? I dont think so, in general, Muller said. It shows other sportsmen that, at the end of the day, the punishment is not going to be that big.Berdych said players knew they had to be very careful about any medications.Every single time I have to take something, I check many times with many different people, he said.At the end, you are the player, you are the athlete, and you are the one whos going to be tested. I always check whatever I take because Im the one who will go for the (doping) control.Sharapova received a little more sympathy from Cilic, who has been through the same process as Sharapova. In 2013, he had a nine-month doping ban reduced to four months.I was not treated fairly at all, Cilic said. In my case the system wasnt wrong, the people were wrong. Thats behind me. It went to the CAS -- its quite fair whatever they say in most of their decisions. 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Parker had 26 points and eight assists and San Antonio beat Toronto 112-99 Monday night. "We won that game because of Tony Parkers aggressiveness," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "His juice; his aggression all night long.Former England coach Stuart Lancaster has joined Leinster until the end of the season.?It is Lancasters first job back in rugby after leaving his England post in the wake of last years Rugby World Cup and he will work under Leo Cullen at the PRO12 side in the role of senior coach.The sad departure of Kurt McQuilkin due to family reasons has brought about an opportunity to bring in somebody new to the Leinster Rugby coaching team, Cullen said. Stuart brings a wealth of experience and is a highly respected figure in world rugby.We are all looking forward to having Stuart join our team and together helping the players maximise their potential as a group.Lancaster, who was linked with the Reds and Western Force, has spent time with NFL franchise Atlanta Falcons since he left England and has also held consultancy roles with British Cycliing, the English FA and New Zealand side Counties Manukau.ddddddddddddWe are always looking at options around resources but once we were made aware of Kurt McQuilkins departure, we narrowed our focus and we are delighted that Stuart has agreed to come on board, Leinster CEO Mick Dawson said. I know, having spoken at length to Stuart, that he is excited by the challenge of getting into club rugby again and the day to day interaction with players.His first session with Leo, Girvan [Dempsey], John [Fogarty] and the players will be later on this afternoon.We welcome Stuart to the club. I think our supporters are going to be excited by this announcement and we wish him all the very best for the season ahead. ' ' '