Nishikori reaches first Wimbledon quarterfinal, ends 23-year Japanese wait

The 28-year-old Nishikori is the first Japanese man to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon since Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995.

Kei Nishikori of Japan returns the ball to Ernests Gulbis of Latvia during their men's singles match on the seventh day at the Wimbledon Tennis Championships in London.

Kei Nishikori overcame an arm injury to reach his first Wimbledon quarterfinal on Monday with a gritty 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (12/10), 6-1 win over Latvian qualifier Ernests Gulbis.

The 28-year-old Nishikori is the first Japanese man to reach the quarterfinals at Wimbledon since Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995.

His reward is a last-eight match-up against either three-time champion Novak Djokovic or unseeded Karen Khachanov of Russia.

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Nishikori needed lengthy treatment and a medical timeout on a right arm injury in the first set and had to save set points in the third.

Gulbis, ranked 130 and who came through qualifying, had shocked fourth seeded German Alexander Zverev in the third round.

But having played three successive five-set matches in the main draw to get this far, he ran out of steam.

A nasty fall, which required a medical time out on his left knee, doomed Gulbis's bid to become just the sixth qualifier to reach the last-eight at Wimbledon.