Yoshihito Nishioka's career-best tennis Grand Slam run ended Sunday, the Japanese left-hander losing to Russian Karen Khachanov in the Australian Open fourth round.
The 18th-seeded Khachanov won 6-0, 6-0, 7-6(4), firing 15 aces and converting seven of 10 break points against the 31st-seeded Nishioka at Melbourne Park.
It took Nishioka 15 games to win his first as he broke back after trailing 2-0 during the third set.
"He played amazingly well," Nishioka said. "He almost made no errors while I made errors early on. I absolutely had no chance in the first two sets."
But the 27-year-old added that he felt good about sending the third set to a tiebreak.
Nishioka's failed bid to reach the quarterfinals left no Japanese in the men's or women's singles draw.
Injury-prone Kei Nishikori remains sidelined, while two-time Australian Open champion Naomi Osaka is expecting a baby and has indicated she will return to the court next year.
Nishioka was the third Japanese man to advance to a Grand Slam fourth round since the Open era began in 1968, following Shuzo Matsuoka and Nishikori.
In the women's draw, Kazakhstan's 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, the 22nd seed, defeated Polish top seed Iga Swiatek 6-4, 6-4 in the fourth round.
