Nicolas Almagro edges out Kei Nishikori

Nicolas Almagro has advanced through to the semi-finals of the Tokyo Masters with a three-set win over Kei Nishikori.

The two players shared four breaks of serve during the opening set, before Almagro dominated the tie-break to move closer to the last four.

However, the home favourite struck back in the second by holding his nerve at the end of the set to take the match into a decider.

The set went with serve for the opening six games before Almagro struck in the seventh, and he soon sealed the match by breaking Nishikori for a second time to secure a 7-6 5-7 6-3 success.

The world number six will now play either Juan Martin del Potro or Alexandr Dolgopolov for a place in the final.