Fifth seed Kei Nishikori has won a battle of the baseliners to move through to the Australian Open third round for the seventh consecutive year.
Japan’s No.1 was broken twice in the second set but consistent pressure on Jeremy Chardy’s serve took him through 6-3 6-4 6-3 in two hours, 20 minutes on Wednesday.
Frenchman Chardy often forced Nishikori wide of the court’s tram tracks but will rue missed opportunities, having racking up 53 unforced errors.