Djokovic advances to Japan Open quarter final

Novak Djokovic stepped up a gear at the Japan Open Wednesday, fending off a tough challenge from Japanese wild card Go Soeda 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the quarter final.

The world number one said he had no problems with the injured shoulder which forced him out of the US Open as he looked to face either French fifth-seed Lucas Pouille or Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka at the Ariake Colosseum, a venue for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

Djokovic was cruising to a victory until late in the second set when the 35-year-old Japanese player put on a tenacious fight while the Serb began missing many of his first serves, reducing his lead to 5-4 before Soeda made it 5-5.

But Djokovic snapped back in form and took the final two games without giving a single point to the Japanese, ending the match in just over 90 minutes.

"Obviously, I was pleased to get that done in two (sets)," Djokovic said. "We must give credit to Go Soeda, who played a really good match, fought hard, made me work for my win today.

"For my side, I am really pleased. Probably I played even on a higher level than the first round. So the game is going to the right direction for sure," he said.

"I played now three days in a row," he said. "Everything is fine."