(Reuters) - Kei Nishikori swept aside Rafa Nadal in the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Friday with a swift 6-2 6-4 victory, while world number one Novak Djokovic saved two match points before beating Latvian Ernests Gulbis.
Japan's Nishikori, seeded fourth, took just 82 minutes to beat the Spaniard, a 14-times grand slam champion and a winner three times at the Rogers Cup.
“I was close in Madrid, but today I was dominating everything,” said Nishikori after getting his first win over Nadal in eight attempts. “I definitely needed to change some of my tactics when playing against Rafa.