Nishikori secures place in Memphis Open quarter-fils

Memphis, Feb 11: Top seeded Kei Nishikori has secured a place in the quarter-fils of the Memphis Open tennis defeating American Ryan Harrison 6-2, 7-5. Nishikori, who won the tourment in the last three editions, will next face Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin, who defeated American Denis Kudla 6-1, 7-5, also on Wednesday. "Yeah, a little bit. He started playing a little better that game," Nishikori said after the match. "I had easy mistakes and should have closed it out but happy to finish the last two games. I actually playing very good, very solid today. The last two games were a bit of a struggle … Usually I struggle the first couple of rounds here so this is the best start so far."

The Japanese said Kukushkin pose a tough challenge for him. IANS