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Karen Khachanov and Yoshihito Nishioka (AP)
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MELBOURNE, AFP: A dominant Karen Khachanov won the first 14 games before surging into his maiden Australian Open quarter-final on Sunday in a straight sets romp over Japan’s outclassed Yoshihito Nishioka.
The Russian 18th seed swept past his racquet-smashing opponent 6-0, 6-0, 7-6 (7/4) on John Cain Arena.
Nishioka, seeded 31, was so out of touch in the opening two sets that he won just 13 points. In set two, he managed only two points across six games in an embarrassing annihilation.
Khachanov appeared on track to become only the sixth player in Grand Slam history, and the first since 1993, to record a triple bagel win – 6-0, 6-0, 6-0 – before Nishioka finally won the 15th game to huge cheers from the crowd.
The victory put him into the last eight at a Grand Slam for the fifth time. His best result was reaching the semi-finals at the US Open last year, where he lost to Casper Ruud.
