Murray beat Nishikori pretty comfortably at the Shanghai Masters
Andy Murray takes on Kei Nishikori, the first Japanese player to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals in the Open Era.
Murray will have been delighted with the way the fourth round worked out. First of all, he enjoyed the easiest path into the last eight as Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin turned up exhausted after playing back to back five setters and retired at two sets to love down in sweltering heat.
And then he watched the in-form sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga crash out in five sets to Nishikori. The Japanese star may be in the form of his life but will he have any energy left for Murray ? He's played three long matches in a row and this one's likely to be in the day session again and Murray is the last person you want to play when it's hot.
"Kei is playing really, really well. Practiced with him a few times. He's very good. You know, very deceptive. For somebody that's not the tallest guy, he creates a lot of power from the back of the court," Murray told the press.
"He deals with pace well. He can slice. He moves well. He was hitting a lot of winners out there. He was dictating all the points from the back of the court which is difficult against someone like Tsonga. He's won a few long matches here as well. Every time I saw him in Brisbane the last few weeks, I've seen him in the gym a lot. I think he's gotten in better shape, as well. He's doing well."
Murray and Nishikori have played just the once before, Murray winning 6-3, 6-0 in October's Shanghai Masters semi-finals.
Prediction: Murray in three.
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