Japanese fifth seed Kei Nishikori, who had been suffering from a rib injury in recent weeks, pulled out of his Wimbledon last-16 match against Marin Cilic on Monday.
Croatian ninth seed Cilic now faces Roger Federer in the quarterfinals after the latter beat American Steve Johnson 6-2 6-3 7-5 in less than two hours.
Nishikori looked lost and consulted the trainer and doctor during the fourth round match and finally pulled out at 6-1, 5-1 down on Court Two. He confirmed it was the same injury which forced him out of the Halle tourament in the run-up to Wimbledon.
"It got worse after the second round. I couldn't compete today," said Nishikori.
FEDERER EQUALS NAVARATILOVA'S RECORD
Federer reached his 14th Wimbledon quarter-final and tied Martina Navratilova's all-time Grand Slam record of 306 match wins. Federer has a 6-1 record over Cilic but the big Croatian stunned the 17-time major champion in the US Open semi-finals in 2014 on his way to his maiden Grand Slam title.
"He brushed me off the court in the US Open a few years ago and I hope to get him back," said Federer who had former coach Stefan Edberg watching on from the player's box on Centre Court.
"Best of five matches are always tough," added Federer, whose 14th appearance in a Wimbledon quarter-final matches the mark of Jimmy Connors.
"I'm happy with how I played. It wasn't as easy as maybe it looked. Steve has picked up a lot of confidence in the last few weeks and he has a nice game for grass but I think I mixed it up well."
Federer has reached the last eight without dropping a set, easing to four successive wins on Centre Court.
"I would never have thought I would win the first four rounds in straight sets. I now need to play my best tennis."
MURRAY REGISTERS 50TH WIMBLEDON WIN
Second seed Andy Murray brushed aside Australia's Nick Kyrgios to register his 50th Wimbledon match win. Murray, the 2013 champion, eased to a 7-5, 6-1, 6-4 win and will face French 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a place in the semi-finals.
Murray leads Tsonga 12-2 in previous meetings.
QUERREY IN HIS FIRST GRAND SLAM QUARTERFINAL
Sam Querrey followed up his shock Wimbledon defeat of Novak Djokovic by beating French veteran Nicolas Mahut 6-4, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to enter his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Querrey, the 28th seed, is the first American in the last-eight at Wimbledon since Mardy Fish in 2011. He will face either Canada's Milos Raonic or David Goffin of Belgium for a place in the semi-finals.
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