Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka reached the fourth round of a Grand Slam tennis tournament for the first time in his career Friday with a straight-sets win over Mackenzie McDonald of the United States at the Australian Open.
The 31st-seeded, left-handed Nishioka won 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-2 at Melbourne Park, converting six of 16 break points while being broken twice. McDonald, who upset injured Rafael Nadal in the second round, made 53 unforced errors against 33 for Nishioka.
In the fourth round, Nishioka will face 18th-seeded Russian Karen Khachanov, a 6-3, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(9) winner over the 16th seed, American Frances Tiafoe.
Nishioka won the first-set tiebreak when he went to the net, and McDonald's forehand went wide.
The 27-year-old jumped out to early breaks in the next two sets and never looked back.
"Making the round of 16 for the first time in my Grand Slam career is big," Nishioka said. "It was my first goal this year."
Nishioka was happy with the result but not how he played, saying, "I was tighter than I expected. It wasn't good tennis. I want to take a close look at myself."
Nishioka became the third Japanese man to advance to a Grand Slam event's fourth round since the Open era began in 1968, following Shuzo Matsuoka and Kei Nishikori.
Japan's highest-profile men's and women's players are both absent from the Australian Open.
Injury-prone 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.
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