WATCH—Match point from Nishikori's win over Shapovalov at Citi Open:

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On Thursday, fans in Washington, D.C. were treated to an enticing second-round match between Kei Nishikori and Denis Shapovalov at the Citi Open.

This was the second meeting between the two players, with Shapovalov winning the previous one, earlier this year in Acapulco, 6-7 (3), 6-3, 6-1.

With this being a night match, it wouldn't have been crazy to expect another win from the 19-year-old. He generally performs at his best when the lights are brightest. But on this night, Nishikori came through in the biggest moments.

The two played a match that was even throughout, but the 28-year-old's maturity made the difference here. Nishikori and Shapovalov traded holds in the first set, and they ultimately went to a tiebreaker. It was there that the 2014 US Open runner-up took control early, and Shapovalov was never able to recover. The Canadian's racquet started bleeding errors from the moment the breaker began, and Nishikori responded appropriately by allowing his opponent to make mistakes.

The second set was more of the same, as the two players were on serve until Shapovalov was serving at 3-3. It was in that game that the Canadian blew a 40-30 lead and allowed Nishikori to come away with what was essentially the match-ending break. The world No. 20 took a 4-3 lead, held for 5-3 and then broke Shapovalov to close out the match: 7-6 (1), 6-3.

Shapovalov looked a bit checked out after the Nishikori break midway through the second. That is the type of frustration that will come with playing as well as your opponent but not having anything to show for it. The youngster likely wasn't happy with his serving either. He double faulted six times in the match, and his first serve percentage was a lousy 45 percent. Those numbers can do a player in when a match is that close, and they definitely contributed to the outcome on Thursday.

Nishikori will now face world No. 3 Alexander Zverev in the quarterfinals of this event. Zverev is the defending champion in D.C., and he actually faced Nishikori in the semifinals here last year. The German won that match 6-3, 6-4, but Nishikori beat Zverev 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 when the two met in Monte Carlo earlier this year. Zverev is the better player of the two, but Nishikori is more than capable of beating him when he is on his game. It should be fun to watch.

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Nishikori came up big when needed in win over Shapovalov at Citi Open

Nishikori came up big when needed in win over Shapovalov at Citi Open

ATP & WTA Washington D.C.

Catch all the action from the Citi Open with live coverage from three courts on Tennis Channel Plus beginning Monday, July 30th at 2:00 PM ET. All matches also available on-demand.