Tennis-Nishikori beats Sousa to move into fourth round

Japan's Kei Nishikori moved swiftly into the fourth round of the Australian Open on Saturday after beating Joao Sousa of Portugal 7-6(6) 6-1 6-2.

The comfortable victory will come as a relief to the eighth seed and former U.S. Open finalist after he battled through consecutive five-set matches in the opening rounds.

After a tight first set, Nishikori took control of the match, increasing the pace on his ground strokes and showing soft hands at the net.

Nishikori will play the winner of Pablo Carreno Busta and Fabio Fognini in the fourth round. (Reporting by Jonathan Barrett; Editing by Peter Rutherford )