Kei Nishikori downs Philipp Kohlschreiber to advance to U.S. Open quarters

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Kei Nishikori, of Japan. (Kevin Hagen/AP)

Kei Nishikori is into the quarterfinals of his return to the U.S. Open.

The 2014 runner-up in Flushing Meadows beat Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 to reach the final eight in his second straight Grand Slam tournament.

Nishikori missed the U.S. Open last year because of a right wrist injury. The No. 21 seed from Japan returned to the tour early this year, building his confidence back with a victory in a Challenger Tour event, then reached the final in Monte Carlo and the quarterfinals at Wimbledon, where he lost to eventual champion Novak Djokovic.

He will next face either No. 7 seed Marin Cilic — who beat him in the 2014 final — or 10th-seeded David Goffin.

Kohlschreiber was denied again in his fifth attempt to win a fourth-round match at the U.S. Open. The German reached his lone Grand Slam quarterfinal at Wimbledon in 2012.

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