Kei Nishikori may not know much about country music or barbecued ribs, but the Japanese sure knows a thing or two about winning in Tennessee.

The three-time defending champion recorded his 15^th consecutive win at the Memphis Open with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Mikhail Kukushkin on Friday night, advancing to an ATP World Tour semi-final for the first time since Toyko last fall (l. to Paire). He has not dropped a set against the Kazakh since 2012.

Nishikori will next face Sam Querrey, who also has a history of success in Memphis. The American reached the semi-finals of the Memphis Open for a third time by dismissing Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-4.

“We had a lot of close games, it was a tough match,” Querrey said. “I kept hitting through the court, and I didn’t lay off on many balls. I was happy with the way I played.

“I didn’t know much about Nishioka, except that he’s a crafty lefty. It was tough to hit the ball through him but I kept pressing.”

The Japanese lefty had expressed excitement about the prospect of facing compatriot Nishikori for the first time in an ATP World Tour event, but Querrey, who made the final four in last year’s event, gave the qualifier nothing to work with. The fourth seed fired 11 aces, saved both break points faced and closed out the win in just 72 minutes.

Querrey will have a chance to avenge last year’s 5-7, 7-6(5), 7-6(5) semi-final loss to Nishikori. The Japanese leads the FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 4-3, and has won the pair’s past three meetings.

Former World No. 4 Juan Martin del Potro will take on American Denis Kudla in the first round of the Delray Beach Open, which kicks off on 15 February. It will be the pair’s first tour-level meeting.

The Argentine, who only took part in two ATP World Tour events in the past year due to wrist surgery, has experienced comeback success in Delray Beach before, having won the 2011 title (d. Tipsarevic) without dropping a set after entering the draw at No. 166 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Del Potro is in the same half as top seed Kevin Anderson and could face third seed Ivo Karlovic in the second round.

Before Gael Monfils stepped on the court Friday night at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament, three seeded players had already fallen in their quarter-final matches.

“I tried not to think about it,” said the fifth-seeded Frenchman. “I know that every match is tough. I knew I had a tough opponent tonight so I was focused only on this game.”

Up against 18-year-old Sascha Zverev, who upset Gilles Simon the previous day, Monfils prevailed 7-6(4), 6-3 to match his best result in Rotterdam (2009). Monfils saved seven of eight break points faced during the one-hour, 34-minute match.

“He was playing very [well],” said Monfils. “It’s already a good sign for him to be in the quarters, so I knew I would have to fight. He beat Gilles in the round before, so I expected a tough match and I think he gave it to me, so I was pleased with my performance today.”

Had Zverev won the tournament, he would have overtaken Borna Coric for the honour of being the highest-ranked teen on the ATP World Tour.

Monfils will next face Philipp Kohlschreiber, who scored his best win of 2016 by upsetting second seed Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The German, No. 32 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is enjoying his best run in Rotterdam (QFs 2007 and 2014) and improves to 6-3 on the year.

Cilic fired 15 aces in the two-hour, nine-minute encounter, but Kohlschreiber frequently extended the Croat’s service games and converted two of nine break points to advance to his first semi-final of the year.

“It was a very close match from the beginning,” said the German. “First set and second set, I think he was the stronger player and had more opportunities. He put a little more pressure on my service game, and I think it was very important to stay in the match. I had some tough situations, managed to come through, and finally I played a very good returning game and got the break, and it lifted my game and my confidence to another level.”

Monfils leads Kohlschreiber 11-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Less than 24 hours after an unexpected win, 18-year-old Taylor Fritz showed his mental toughness in a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(5) win over German veteran Benjamin Becker at the Memphis Open. Becker served for the match at 6-5 in the deciding set, but Fritz broke back at 15 to force a tie-break.

“It’s incredible, I can’t believe it,” Fritz said. “To come back in that way, with him serving for the match, I’ll never forget that.

“I told myself that the balls were worn out, and that I just had to make him play. I tried to make him beat me under pressure.”

The Californian made a quick turnaround, both physically and mentally, after Thursday night’s upset win over second seed and practice partner Steve Johnson and became the youngest American in an ATP World Tour semi-final since 17-year-old Michael Chang won the 1989 Wembley title.

Fritz fired 13 aces and saved six of 11 break points in the two-hour, 20-minute battle.

Facing the rising star in the semi-finals will be Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis, who saw off third seed Donald Young 7-6(3), 6-1. No. 102 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Berankis came into the match ranked 54 places below Young. However, he also knew what it took to get the better of the American left-hander, having won the pair’s lone tour-level meeting in San Jose five years ago.

“I’m very happy to be in my second ATP semi-final,” Berankis said. “Maybe it wasn’t Young’s best day today. He didn’t really have a plan B and thought I would put myself in trouble with fast shots and mistakes, but it didn’t work out for him.”

Unusually, Berankis went back on the court after his match to work on a few details ahead of his next match.

“(I hit some) extra serves, forehands, just to clean up some things in my game and to feel better tomorrow.”

Fritz will be looking to reach his first ATP World Tour final while Berankis has not taken part in one since Los Angeles 2012 (l. to Querrey).

Germany’s Philipp Petzschner and Austrian Alexander Peya edged Dominic Inglot and Robert Lindstedt 6-3, 4-6, 10-4 on Friday at the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament to set up a semi-final clash with top seeds Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau. The unseeded duo saved four of six break points and closed out the win in 80 minutes.

Rojer/Tecau were untouchable on serve in downing Gilles Muller and Nenad Zimonjic 6-3, 6-3. The reigning Barclays ATP World Tour Finals doubles champions did not face a break point in the 58-minute win.

Cabal/Farah Rally In Buenos Aires

Top seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah will play for the Argentina Open doubles title after completing a 4-6, 6-3, 10-6 comeback against No. 3 seeds David Marrero and Frank Moser in the semi-finals. Marrero/Moser saved five break points and scored the lone break of the first set, but Cabal/Farah only missed three first serves the rest of the way to take the win.

Fritz And Querrey Pull Double Duty In Memphis

Hours after fighting into the singles semi-finals, teenager Taylor Fritz teamed up with Ryan Harrison to down Marcos Daniell and Artem Sitak 6-2, 6-7(4), 12/10. The young Americans could not capitalise on six match points in the second set, but recovered to set up a semi-final date with compatriots Steve Johnson and Sam Querrey, who also advanced in singles earlier on Friday. The fourth seeds eliminated Wesley Koolhof and Matwe Middelkoop 6-3, 6-4 in just under an hour.

With temperature soaring over 33 degrees Celsius in Buenos Aires on Friday, Rafael Nadal held on for a momentum-boosting win over Paolo Lorenzi at the Argentina Open.

After defeating good friend Juan Monaco with some difficulty on Thursday night, Nadal overcame Lorenzi 7-6(3), 6-2 to record his 346^th win on clay. He remains on track to defend his Buenos Aires title and win a 48^th title on his favourite surface.

Nadal targeted the Italian’s weaker backhand wing from the get-go, frequently going down-the-line on his two-hander to goad Lorenzi into rolling the ball toward his world-famous lefty forehand. The 34 year old made Nadal sweat by going big on his forehand whenever possible and rushing the net with success late in the set. Unfortunately, the gambit failed at a critical moment, when Nadal hit a vintage running pass before securing the opening set tie-break.

Playing with the lead allowed Nadal to get on his front foot. He began to push a tiring Lorenzi far behind the baseline, which allowed him to race toward the finish line by alternating aggressive drives with delicate drop shots winners. He secured two breaks in the second set and closed out the match in just under two hours.

In the semi-finals, Nadal will face fifth seed Dominic Thiem, who downed Dusan Lajovic 6-4, 6-2 in 80 minutes. Thiem, the youngest player in the Top 20, prevented Lajovic from winning his first ATP World Tour quarter-final match in eight attempts. Nadal won the pair’s lone FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting in straight sets at Roland Garros in 2014.