Kei Nishikori, Milos Raonic, Gilles Simon into Japan Open semis

Tokyo: Kei Nishikori moved closer to a second Japan Open title by defeating unseeded Jeremy Chardy of France 6-4, 6-2 in the quarter-finals on Friday.

The seventh-ranked Nishikori won 80 percent of his first serves and relied on his powerful forehand at key points.

The third-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada and Gilles Simon of France also won in straight sets to set up their semi-final on Saturday.

Nishikori, champion in 2012, awaited either Benjamin Becker of Germany or Jack Sock of the United States, who met in the late match.