Stanislas Wawrinka has produced a fine performance to book his place in the semi-finals of the Australian Open by beating Kei Nishikori in straight sets this morning.
The 29-year-old was pushed all the way in an entertaining third set, but there was to be no first final-four appearance at this Grand Slam event for his Japanese opponent who was edged out 6-3 6-4 7-6(6).
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The defending champion made the first breakthrough on Rod Laver Arena with a break of serve in the fourth game.
Nishikori struggled for rhythm early on in the match, and despite saving two set points on serve, he was unable to prevent Wawrinka from clinching the opener.
Wawrinka's trademark backhand was a constant problem for Nishikori, who seemed short of his best for long spells as he battled to stay in the match.
The Japanese ace continued to look vulnerable on serve, however, and Wawrinka made another breakthrough midway through the second set.
Wawrinka was forced to save three break points in the 10th game before serving out to take a commanding lead.
The momentum finally shifted at the start of the third set as Nishikori won two successive games to love to encourage the Melbourne crowd that an unlikely comeback could be on the cards.
However, Wawrinka immediately broke back to love to halt the progress of the fifth seed, ensuring a tightly-contested remainder to the all-important third set which had to be decided by a tie-break.
It was the fourth seed who came out on top, though, and despite missing five match points to wrap up the contest he was able to hold his nerve at 6-6 to power into the final four.
Wawrinka will continue the defence of his title against either Milos Raonic or top seed Novak Djokovic in the next round.
Callum Mulvihill
