A ruthless Andy Murray ended Kei Nishikori's brilliant run at the Australian Open, carving up the Japanese with a dominant 6-3, 6-3, 6-1 victory to stroll into his third successive semi-final at Melbourne Park.
Nishikori, the first Japanese man through to the last eight in Melbourne for 80 years, won support from kimono-clad fans as the underdog at sun-bathed Rod Laver Arena, but left with his tail between his legs after a two-hour and 12-minute spanking.
While serving appallingly and rarely setting the court alight, Murray assumed control from the outset, exploiting the flashy Japanese's comparative lack of height with lobs and running him around the court to distraction.
The fourth-seeded Briton stepped up a gear in the third as fatigue took its toll on the 22-year-old Japanese, who had played two epic five-set matches and a long four-setter in his previous three matches.
Irked after handing back a break early in the third set, Murray stomped back to his chair at the change of ends and flung a bottle of water in anger.
He emerged belligerent after a brief sulk, and whipped through the final set in 29 minutes, sealing it on the second match point when Nishikori belted a forehand return into the net.
Murray will likely face world number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-finals and said he hoped to get his serve back on track after landing a woeful 44 per cent of his first serves.
Djokovic plays Spaniard David Ferrer in the late quarter-final at Rod Laver Arena.
"I thought it was a good match. There were a lot of good points. Most of the fun points he was winning. So I was trying to keep them as short as possible," Murray said in a courtside interview.
"I think I needed to serve better ... but the returning was good."
Nishikori entered the blue centre court to face-painted Japanese fans chanting his name, but was soon on the back foot against Murray who broke him immediately on the way to a 3-1 lead.
Toying with the Japanese, Murray lured Nishikori to the net with drop-shots and then sent lobs looping over his head time and time again.
The tactic worked invariably, but the scrambling Nishikori chased one lob down and made a play for the highlight reels at 3-1 in the first set that had the stands roaring their approval.
Charging back from the net to retrieve a shot, Nishikori lobbed Murray from between his legs, then smacked a forehand down the line after the world number four could only tap a volley harmlessly over the net.
Murray's attempt at a 'tweener' in the following game fell flat, however, when his swiping racket connected with only fresh air as he galloped across the baseline.
Although losing the "fun" points and most of the crowd to the plucky Nishikori, Murray knuckled down for the points that mattered, launching a booming serve to seal the first set and taking another early break in the second.
The 24th-seeded Nishikori had played five more sets in his previous three matches than Murray and it appeared to show as he surrendered the second set with a pair of unforced errors.
He broke back to 1-1 but his serves became cannon fodder for the fourth-seeded Scot who motored home to set up his fifth consecutive major semi-final.
Reuters
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