BARCELONA, Spain—Kei Nishikori moved into the quarterfinals of the Barcelona Open on Thursday with a 6-3, 7-5 win over Jeremy Chardy. Around the same time, with nearly an identical score, Alexandr Dolgopolov saw off rising teenager Karen Khachanov, 6-4, 7-5.
The two will face off on Friday for a spot in the semifinals. Nishikori is the two-time defending champion in Barcelona, so he’s going into Friday’s meeting with a 12-match tournament winning streak. The Japanese star also leads the head to head against Dolgpolov 4-0, most recently beating the Ukrainian, 6-2, 6-2, in the third round of the Miami Open.
“I’m really happy with my game today,” Dolgopolov, who saved a match point, said after his 4-6, 7-6 (9), 6-4 win over Evgeny Donskoy. “I think I was playing better than the first round. The first round I struggled. I was really lucky to get through.”