Defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka is through to the Australian Open semi-finals after a straight-sets victory over Kei Nishikori.
The Swiss number two would have expected a tougher match against the fifth seed but the 29-year-old's power was far too much for the Japanese.
Nishikori saved five match points during a closely-fought third set but he couldn't stop Wawrinka progressing by a 6-3 6-4 7-6 scoreline.
Read below to see how the action unfolded on the Rod Laver Arena.
Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of the last-eight contest at the Australian Open between Stanislas Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori.
With Madison Keys and Serena Williams through to the last four of the women's draw, it's time for the men's action to get underway. Wawrinka enters the match as the defending champion but Nishikori is looking in fine form and has every chance of reaching the semi-finals in Melbourne for the first time. The two players are ready so let's get this started.
After the opening two points are shared, Wawrinka begins to unloads from the baseline and a startling cross-court backhand earns two game points. Nishikori saves the first but a smash on the second seals the game for the Swiss number two.
It's been a tentative start from Nishikori but he gets to 30-15 after getting lucky with the net cord. However, as usual, Wawrinka isn't shy from the back of the court and he earns a break point after a 19-shot rally. He dumps a return into the net, though, and that helps the Japanese hold serve.
After starting the third game with a double fault, Wawrinka replies with ace and backhand winner before Nishikori catches the net after a heavy-hitting rally. Another ace from the Swiss sees him re-open the early lead.
BREAK! Nishikori is a step behind the Swiss right now and a couple of unforced errors hand Wawrinka two break points. He only needs the one, though, as the Japanese wallops a forehand into the net.
Wawrinka supposedly has a sore elbow but he is showing no signs of that at the moment. He crushes down an ace for 30-15 but Nishikori responds with a cross-court forehand that draws the error. Wawrinka survives with a couple of quick points and he has quickly established a 4-1 lead after just 17 minutes.
Will that help Nishikori settle into this quarter-final? He holds to love with minimal fuss.
Maybe not. Wawrinka does exactly the same. The last couple of games have lasted barely three minutes. I'm pretty sure that will change. The extended rallies will be on show soon enough.
After Nishikori goes long from the baseline, Wawrinka almost earns 0-30 but his defensive lob just clears the line. However, the Japanese lashes a forehand wide and that's his eighth unforced error. Wawrinka earns two set points with a wonderfully-crafted cross-court forehand, but last year's US Open runner-up does superbly to fight his way out of trouble with four successive points.
SET! Wawrinka has barely lost a point behind his serve but a double fault and a backhand error hand 15-30 to Nishikori. That almost becomes 15-40 but the Swiss somehow frames a smash over the net. Wawrinka brings up set point with a forehand winner from inside the court and when Nishikori goes long with a backhand, the defending champion has the opening set on the board.
Nishikori has a good engine on him so he will be prepared to go five sets but he needs a solid start to this second set. Wawrinka is interested at 30-30 but Nishikori takes control at the net to edge ahead.
The double faults are beginning to come off the racquet of Wawrinka and when Nishikori follows that up with a backhand return winner, it's 0-30. It's a super recovery from the Swiss number one who follows three big serves with a beautiful backhand that drops inside the court.
On the second point, Nishikori hits a 77mph first serve before responding with a 121mph ace. Tennis is a weird sport! A clever backhand that just drops over the net keep Wawrinka in the game before a Nishikori double fault helps him to deuce. The Swiss then catches Nishikori coming in and it's break point, but out of nowhere, the Japanese fires down a second-serve ace! A fifth ace from the 25-year-old helps find the hold.
Wawrinka starts his second service of the set in much more convincing fashion with a neat backhand volley taking him to three game points. Nishikori hits a phenomenal return to stay in the game but Wawrinka holds when his opponent lashes a return wide.
BREAK! Apart from the occasional brilliance, Nishikori has been off colour and although he improves in a rally that leaves him without a racquet after slide to retrieve a ball, he falls to two break points. He saves the first with a serve-and-volley but the Swiss connects with a thunderous cross-court backhand to earn the break.
Nishikori has started to look disheartened after more faultless serving from his opponent, who romps to a love hold. Nishikori needs to find some kind of response or else the defending champion will be two sets ahead in little over an hour.
Wawrinka is performing at such a high level. He constructs two excellent points to get to 0-30, and although Nishikori halves the deficit, the Swiss number one sets up two break points with a cross-court backhand that left the easy put-away. Nishikori saves them both but Wawrinka sets up a third after sneaking in to put away an immaculate volley. He can't get the job done, though, and the Japanese somehow holds to keep the deficit at the solitary break.
A ninth ace gets Wawrinka on his way before he just about makes a backhand winner when it clips the line. Nishikori isn't amused. A 10th ace takes the Swiss to 40-15 before an 11th gets him to within one of a two-set lead.
Wawrinka middles a backhand down the line for 15-15 but he gets over ambitious and misses out on the next two points. He recognises his mistake. Nishikori seals the hold to 15 with an effective one-two off his serve.
SET! Wawrinka opens with an ace but Nishikori dominates the next rally before stepping in to convert a volley. He's pumped after that. He's further energised when he cracks a forehand that clips the line and he has two break points after a sharp return brings the error. Wawrinka saves the first with a fine serve out wide, and the same occurs on a second as he fires a 138mph at the body of the fifth seed. However, Nishikori has a third break point after a sublime backhand winner but it's saved with an ace. Unreal tennis. Wawrinka has set point with a brutal first serve and it's converted when Nishikori nets under pressure. That was a huge game.
Even though he lost that game and set, Nishikori will be encouraged after finally creating some break-point chances on the Wawrinka serve. He starts the third with a hold to love to tell his opponent that he doesn't intend on going away.
BREAK! Three uncharacteristic backhand mistakes from Wawrinka give Nishikori three break points and the Japanese converts one at the first time of asking with a volley. Wawrinka's intensity has dropped off since the changeover.
BREAK! It's Nishikori's turn to make successive errors and after falling 0-30 down, Wawrinka pounds his way through to earn three break-back points. He takes it on the first with a majestic backhand winner and we are back on serve at the beginning on this third set.
Wawrinka looks back in his groove as he canters into a 40-0 advantage before the Japanese nets a return. Big game coming up for the fifth seed. He needs to halt the Wawrinka momentum.
Nishikori is back on the ball with four successive points That should act as a morale booster for him as he looks for another breakthrough on the Wawrinka serve.
Guess how Wawrinka starts this game? Yup, you guessed right. An ace followed by a backhand winner down the line. The Swiss holds to love again and Nishikori is starting to look a little weary.
Nishikori follows an ace with a miscued forehand, but he remains in the lead when Wawrinka finds the net. A nice serve-and-volley earn the fifth seed two game points, the first of which he takes when his opponent fires a return wide.
At 30-15, Nishikori has an opening to level the game, but after working his opponent out of position, he could only send a forehand just long of the baseline. He remains interested after taking the next point, but a net cord helps out Wawrinka and he is able to hold when the Japanese nets.
The serve-and-volley is working well for Nishikori and he uses it twice to move to 40-0. The love hold is completed when Wawrinka just misses with a backhand return and the Swiss must return to try to remain in the set.
Nishikori is unfortunate to miss the line with a backhand pass, but Wawrinka deservedly takes the next point with yet another ace. Two backhand volleys earn a love hold and we have reached the nitty-gritty part of the set.
Nishikori makes it 11 points in a row on serve to hold to love once more. He's having a lot of joy with the serve-and-volley. Makes you wonder why we are only seeing it in set three.
A sign of nerves from Wawrinka? He throws in a double fault for 15-15 but he is fortunate to find the line with a forehand winner. A 15th ace earns two game points and a 16th takes us to a tie-break.
Nishikori serves-and-volleys again but Wawrinka is on to it for the mini-break, before he makes it 2-0 with an ace down the middle. A fourth ace in a row moves the score to 3-0 before he gets all over a second serve to set up a boomimg forehand winner. Nishikori gets on the board when Wawrinka goes long but Wawrinka makes it five aces in a row to get to 5-1 at the change of ends.
Nishikori stops the run of aces but he has no answer to the brilliance of Wawrinka at the net. He has five match points, but he misses the first when a backhand goes marginally wide. Nishikori saves a second with a solid first serve, while a third goes begging when he nets a forehand. Nishikori couldn't, could he? He might you know! He saves a fourth with a drive volley and we are back on serve! Nishikori saves a fifth when another shot from Wawrinka goes into net, and somehow, we are at 6-6!
MATCH! Nishikori dominates the next rally but a drop shot hits the top of the tape! It's a sixth match point for Wawrinka and this time, he takes it. With an ace too! What a performance from the defending champion.
If you doubted that Wawrinka had a chance of defending his title, think again. That was arguably the performance of the tournament and he did it with ease. Whether it's Novak Djokovic or Milos Raonic who awaits in the last four, it's going to take a hell of a performance to deny Wawrinka a place in the final.
That will be all from Sports Mole for this game but we hope you return for our coverage of the Djokovic and Raonic contest at around 8.30am, GMT. Goodbye for now.
Written by
Darren Plant
Darren Plant
