Richard Gasquet won two tiebreaks as he defeated Nick Kyrgios 7-6(4), 7-6(1) to reach the quarterfinals of the Japan Open on Thursday.
Both players were dominant on their serve and there wasn’t a single break in one hour, 18 minutes of play. Kyrgios fired 22 aces during the match, with Gasquet hitting 12 of his own, including on match point.
The Frenchman will play Kevin Anderson in Friday’s quarterfinals after the South African defeated Frances Tiafoe 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
No. 2 seed Anderson was also taken to three sets in his opening match on Tuesday, as he came from a set down to beat Matthew Ebden.
No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced after a win over Alex De Minaur to set up a quarterfinal clash with Kei Nishikori. World No. 15 Tsitsipas, 20, defeated De Minaur, 19, 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 to reach the last eight.
Jan-Lennard Struff, who knocked out No. 1 seed Marin Cilic on Monday, defeated Jeremy Chardy 7-6(3), 6-7(2), 6-4. The German will play Denis Shapovalov, who beat Stanislas Wawrinka the previous day.