Nishikori Breezes Into Last Eight In Toronto

Third seed Kei Nishikori made quick work of qualifier Rajeev Ram on Thursday at the Rogers Cup, not dropping serve on his way to the quarter-finals with a convincing 6-3 6-4 win.

Both players traded service holds until 3-3, when Nishikori found another gear and broke Ram twice in a row to take the set. The Japanese star gave Ram few opportunities to establish himself in his service games, dropping just six points on serve throughout the set. Nishikori remained in control throughout the second set, saving three break points on his serve at 1-1 and finally grabbing the first break of the set by breaking Ram to love at 5-4 to close out the match.

Nishikori is making his fifth appearance at the Rogers Cup, with his best result being a semi-final finish last year. He is hoping to win his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title this week.

Next up for the third seed is the winner of the match between Grigor Dimitrov and Ivo Karlovic. Nishikori leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Dimitrov 2-0. Although Karlovic leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 2-1, Nishikori won their most recent match in Memphis in 2014.