Nishikori Cruises Past Khachanov In Vienna

Kei Nishikori earned two service breaks in each set to beat Russia’s Karen Khachanov, last week’s VTB Kremlin Cup titlist, 6-2, 6-2 in 64 minutes on Thursday at the Erste Bank Open 500. The fifth-seeded Japanese star, who has a 38-17 match record in 2018, must reach the Vienna semi-finals in order to potentially improve upon his current position of 10th in the ATP Race To London. Nishikori qualified for the Nitto ATP Finals for three consecutive years in 2014-16.

Dominic Thiem and John Isner, who are also attempting to qualify for the season finale at The O2 in London from 11-18 November, feature later today. Kyle Edmund, last week’s European Open champion, also plays in second-round action.