Australian Open: Djokovic cruises into semi-final as injured Nishikori retired

World number one Novak Djokovic on Wednesday cruised into the semi-final round of the ongoing Australian Open as his Japanese opponent Kei Nishikori retired in the second set of their quarters clash due to an injury.

The duo played on the court for 52 minutes before the match was called off in the second set and the final scoreline reading 6-1, 4-1 in Djokovic's favour.

The six times Australian Open champion won 51 points in the match, along with 25 service points, to continue his dominance over Nishikori.

Maintaining a winning percentage of 85% in the first serve and 100% in the second, Djokovic was well on top of his game.

The Serbian player smashed some backhand winners to put the Japanese player under pressure in his first service game. Nishikori tried making a comeback but ended up committing costly errors. As the 31-minute set ended in Djokovic's favour, Nishikori complained of a problem in his right thigh and received treatment for the same.

In the second set, Djokovic clinched 16 of the first 17 points to take 4-1 lead over Nishikori. At this point, the Japanese player walked to the net and ended his run in the match due to injury.

Next, Djokovic will be up against Lucas Pouille of France, who defeated Milos Raonic of Canada in their quarter-final clash, to get a ticket to the final round of the Australian Open.