Washington, February 13

Top seed Kei Nishikori moved closer to a fourth straight ATP Memphis title on Friday, saving all five break points he faced in a 6-2, 6-4 quarter-final victory over Mikhail Kukushkin.

Japan’s world No 7, who has now won all five of his meetings with Kazakhstan’s Kukushkin, reached his first ATP semi-final since Tokyo in October. He’ll face fourth-seeded American Sam Querrey in a rematch of their semi-final clash here last year. Querrey ended dream run of Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 6-3, 6-4.

Although he emerged with the straight-sets win, Querrey said it wasn’t easy against the Japanese left-hander. “We had a lot of close games, it was a tough match,” said Querrey, who served up 11 aces and saved both break points he faced to win in 72 minutes — ending Nishioka’s dream of facing compatriot Nishikori.

Ricardas Berankis, ranked 102nd in the world, advanced with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 win over American Donald Young. “Maybe it wasn’t Young’s best day today,” said Berankis, who reached his second career ATP semi-final. “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.”