6 January 2017 | Tennis Australia

Jordan Thompson’s run at the Brisbane International has been halted by No.3 seed Kei Nishikori.

Thompson, from Sydney, became a fan favourite at the Queensland Tennis Centre after his stunning first-round upset of Spain’s David Ferrer, but he fell 6-1 6-1 to Nishikori in the quarter-finals on Friday.

“Maybe, I came out a little bit slow. But he was playing pretty bloody well from the start, and he continued to play that way,” he told reporters. “That’s why he’s a top-five player. He didn’t let up at all. I couldn’t really dictate play. He was just hitting it too big for me on the day.

“It’s positive,” stated the 22-year-old. “It’s the first week of 2017 and I made a quarter-final here in Brisbane.

“We’re still in the doubles (w/ Kokkinakis), I’m getting matches under my belt, as well. It’s definitely a positive week.”

Nishikori will next face Stan Wawrinka, who had earlier beaten unseeded Brit Kyle Edmund, for a spot in Sunday’s decider.