Kei Nishikori and Alex Dolgopolov are competing in the quarter-finals of a Masters Series event for the first time when they clash in Shanghai on Friday.
Nishikori made history on Thursday with a battling 7-6(6), 4-6, 6-3 win over Santiago Giraldo. As a result, Nishikori is guaranteed to become the highest ranked Japanese player ever on Monday.
It's not a surprise for seasoned followers of the game who have been aware of Nishikori's potential for many years and the Japanese star has the talent to go much higher than Shuzo Matsuoka's ranking of world no 46, reaching back in 1992.
It's been quite a week for Nishikori who earned his first ever win over a top ten player a few days ago, stunning world number eight Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It looks set to be a fascinating battle against Dolgopolov who made his first Masters 1000 quarter-final by defeating teenager Bernard Tomic 5-7, 6-1, 6-0, a decent result against the man who took out Mardy Fish in the second round.
"I was hitting pretty free on the court," Dolgopolov said. "I'll just take it match by match. I haven't been playing my best tennis. It's difficult with the conditions here. I'm struggling with playing my game. I need to think a lot and be motivated to work on the court. It's really nice for me at the end of the year. I hope I can do well next match."
Prediction: Nishikori in three.
