TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Japan's former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori reached the final of the Hong Kong Tennis Open after his Chinese opponent, Shang Juncheng, pulled out due to illness in the first set of their Saturday semifinal with Nishikori 4-3 up.

On Sunday, the 35-year-old Nishikori, currently ranked 106th, will play his first final on the ATP Tour since winning the Brisbane International in January 2019, looking to claim his 13th title.

He will face 67th-ranked Alexandre Muller in the decider after the Frenchman edged Spaniard Jaume Munar 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 in the other semifinal at the ATP 250 tournament.

On Friday, Nishikori beat 49th-ranked Cameron Norrie of Britain 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

"Most of the match he played solid but gave me a few chances," Nishikori is quoted as saying on the tour website. "I made more returns in the third set, played more aggressively and everything worked."

Nishikori broke to lead 4-2 in the third set, landing his winner just inside the baseline after reacting well to get on the end of a powerful Norrie groundstroke before breaking again to seal it in 1 hour, 41 minutes.

Nishikori will return to the top 100 in the ATP rankings for the first time since June 2022 on Monday.