Kei Nishikori battles past Jeremy Chardy in Paris Masters

Kei Nishikori has progressed into the third round of the Paris Masters by defeating Jeremy Chardy in three sets.

The world number seven came through 7-6(4) 6-7(6) 6-1 in the French capital after almost two-and-a-half hours of tennis.

The first set went largely with serve throughout, as both players comfortably held, although Nishikori appeared to have gained a crucial advantage when he broke in the 11th game to move 6-5 up. However, Chardy broke back immediately to take the set to a tie-break, which Nishikori won 7-4.

The second set followed a similar pattern to the first, with Nishikori and Chardy strong on their own service games. Nishikori had a number of opportunities to break in the sixth game, but his French opponent saved five break points before winning it.

With no player finding a breakthrough, the second set also entered a tie-break, which Chardy claimed 8-6 to level the scores.

The third and final set was a more straightforward affair, as Nishkori dominated throughout. The Japanese player broke twice on his way to moving 5-1 ahead, before securing another break to take the set 6-1 and with it the match.