Nishikori trains sights on number three spot after Wawrinka win

The Japanese proved far too good for his opponent in the opening Group John McEnroe meeting at the ATP World Tour Finals, romping to a 6-2, 6-3 victory in just over an hour.

Nishikori began this week ranked fifth in the world, with Wawrinka and fourth-placed Raonic his rivals for the third spot at the end of 2016.

Kei Nishikori is focusing on the goal of ending the year as the world number three after his demolition of Stan Wawrinka on Monday.

The Japanese proved far too good for his opponent in the opening Group John McEnroe meeting at the ATP World Tour Finals, romping to a 6-2, 6-3 victory in just over an hour.

Nishikori began this week ranked fifth in the world, with Wawrinka and fourth-placed Raonic his rivals for the third spot at the end of 2016.

The 2014 US Open finalist was buoyed by a sizeable presence of Japanese support in London's O2 Arena, and hopes he can continue the stunning form he showed against Wawrinka.

"That's my goal for this week, try to win a lot of matches and reach number four then three," he said on-court.

"I see the opportunity to go up the rankings and I've been playing really well this year so I'll try to keep it up.

"I was very solid from the first game and very confident. It wasn't easy against Stan he hits a lot of slice and mixes up a lot of shots.

"I played a solid and good match today. It's great to see a lot of support, especially the Japanese flag and it's a great atmosphere. I always love to play here and I hope I can keep playing like this.

"[Coaches] Michael [Chang] and Dante [Bottini] push me hard. I had an early loss in Paris so I had a lot of practice time," he told Sky Sports.

"We pushed a lot this week and it's getting better so I'm happy with my tennis today."