Defending champion Stanislas Wawrinka advanced to the semifinals of the Australian Open with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-6 (6) win over U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori on Wednesday.
Wawrinka, who beat Rafael Nadal last year in the final for his first Grand Slam title, will play either top-seeded Novak Djokovic or Milos Raonic of Canada in the semifinals on Friday.
Wawrinka and Nishikori last met in the U.S. Open quarterfinals in 2014 when Nishikori won in five sets.
In the third-set tiebreaker, Wawrinka raced to a 4-0 and 6-1 lead before Nishikori saved five match points to level the score at 6-all. But Nishikori tried a drop shot that didn’t clear the net to set up another match point, which Wawrinka converted with an ace, his 20th of the match.
