The forgotten man of the Australian Open served up a reminder of his quality on Sunday.

Fourth seed David Ferrer obliterated 16th seed Kei Nishikori on Rod Laver Arena 6-2 6-1 6-4 to move into the quarter-finals and a showdown with either eighth seed Janko Tipsarevic or 10th seed Nicolas Almagro.

Ferrer’s magnificent chasing and defensive play was a feature of the two hour, 10 minute fourth-round encounter.

A tough first service game was as hard as it got for the Spaniard early as he broke Asia’s highest ranked player to go up 3-1 in the first set and closed it out with relative ease.

But what followed in the second set was at times breathtaking as Ferrer steamed to a 5-0 lead, the Japanese player allowed no chance to find rhythm.

As if to put an exclamation point on his dominance, Ferrer saved three break points before eventually serving out the set.

Nishikori, who appeared to be hampered by a knee problem late in the match, battled hard in the third set.

They traded breaks of serve throughout – the decisive one coming in the ninth game on Nishikori as Ferrer grabbed a 5-4 advantage, before he comfortably served out the match.

“I played really good the first two sets – I didn’t have any mistakes,” Ferrer told the Rod Laver Arena crowd post-match.

“So now I am in the quarter-final of the Australian Open. I am very satisfied.”

Barely mentioned as the Melbourne Park focus has been squarely on the men’s big three of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray and Roger Federer, Ferrer remains on track for a semi-final with top seed Djokovic should the pair keep winning.