Resurgent Stan Wawrinka sets up Kei Nishikori semi-final in Rotterdam

Swiss tennis ace Stan Wawrinka, who is seeking his first title since undergoing two knee surgeries in 2017, subdued Canadian 10th seed Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 7-6(4) in the last-eight clash of the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament on Friday.

With the win, Wawrinka has now set up an intriguing semi-final match against top seed Kei Nishikori.

The Swiss wildcard broke for a 5-4 lead in the opening set and sealed the win in a well-mastered tiebreak.

"Physically I feel really good, and I`m moving and feeling better match after match," said Wawrinka following the victory. 

"Tonight was a tough match. I had to really fight at the end. I was a bit nervous at the end of the match. We had some long rallies. It`s good to see that I can keep being there, mentally, physically," he added.

Nishikori took a step closer to claiming his second title of the year by defeating Hungary`s Marton Fucsovics 6-3, 6-2.

In other men's singles event, Russian fifth seed Daniil Medvedev dismantled Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-4, 6-2 in a one-sided quarter-final clash.

He will face another Frenchman in Gael Monfils, who defeated Damir Dzumhur of  Bosnia 6-1, 6-2, for a place in the summit showdown of the tournament.