KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (AP) β Top-seeded Kei Nishikori of Japan beat Rajeev Ram of the United States 6-2, 6-3 to reach the quarterfinals of the Malaysian Open on Wednesday.
Nishikori, in his first match since reaching the final of the U.S. Open, broke the unseeded Ram four times to set up a quarterfinal clash with Marinko Matosevic of Australia, who beat Go Soeda of Japan 7-6 (5), 6-4.
Fifth-seeded Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay rallied from a set down to pass Ivan Dodig of Croatia, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Defending champion Joao Sousa of Portugal was eliminated in the first round by Benjamin Becker of Germany 7-6 (1), 6-2, and Michal Przysiezny of Poland beat Malek Jaziri of Tunisia, 4-6, 6-4, 6-2.
