Kei Nishikori continued his march toward the Rakuten Japan Open final on Friday afternoon with a 6-4, 6-2 victory over unseeded Jeremy Chardy of France in the quarterfinals.
The seventh-ranked player in the world, Nishikori put on another fine display with an array of shots in the win on the hardcourt at Ariake Colosseum. He served well and relied on his powerful forehand at key points in the match.
Nishikori, the runnerup at last month's U.S. Open, will face unseeded Benjamin Becker of Germany in the semifinals on Saturday. Becker beat Jack Sock of the United States 4-6, 6-1, 6-4 in the day's last quarterfinal.