Kei Nishikori advanced to his eighth Grand Slam championship quarter-final on Monday when he defeated Fernando Verdasco 0-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 at Roland Garros in two hours and 35 minutes.
Eighth seed Nishikori will now challenge World No. 1 Andy Murray, who reached last year’s final. Murray leads 8-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series and won their lone clay-court clash at the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open.
"We have played so many times," said Nishikori. "He's a great player, a very smart tennis player. It's never easy, and I think this week he's been playing well. He's hitting great balls. So I'm sure it's going be tough one, but I will try to enjoy it and try to win the match."
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Verdasco was totally dominant in the 26-minute opener, with Nishikori striking just two winners. The second set was more competitive once the pair exchanged service breaks early on. Nishikori went onto to capitalise on two mistakes by Verdasco at 4-4, eventually winning five out of the next six games to seize the momentum. Although each player broke once more in quick succession, Nishikori won seven straight games from 5-4 in the third set, largely as a result of some stunning backhand winners.
"I think he started really well, especially as the court's bounce was really high today and he was using very heavy forehand," said Nishikori. "I was running side to side. I couldn't do anything in the first set, but I tried to play a little more aggressively sometimes, and it started working a little bit better. But still it was a really, really tough battle. There were so many long rallies in the second and third sets... But I gained some confidence during second and third. The fourth, I think it was perfect tennis I played. I'm very happy to win today."
Nishikori, who beat Verdasco 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 2-6, 6-4 in the 2016 Roland Garros third round, has now beaten the Spaniard four times in their past six meetings. The 27-year-old Nishikori is now 24-8 on the season.
"Honestly, I could not find myself in this match even when I was leading 6-0 in the first set," said Verdasco. "I should have been enthusiastic. And yet I could not play my tennis. Even after I won the first set, I tried and I just couldn't. Today was a key match. You can't afford to make the mistakes I made. And then I just didn't have the right sensations... Everything I tried to do I couldn't. It just wasn't working out. When I tried to be more aggressive, I was either hitting the ball into the net or something else went wrong. When I tried to accelerate, it was just not working out."
Go inside the tournament at RolandGarros.com.