Novak Djokovic maintained his Golden Slam bid by thumping Japanese hope Kei Nishikori to reach the men’s Olympic tennis semi-finals, while his chief Gold-medal rival Daniil Medvedev was dumped out on Thursday.
In the women’s draw, Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic set up a final against Naomi Osaka’s conqueror Marketa Vondrousova with a marathon victory over Kazakh Elena Rybakina.
World No 1 Djokovic, who has already sealed the Australian Open, French Open and Wimbledon titles this season, brushed aside Nishikori 6-2, 6-0 in just 70 minutes.
The 34-year-old Djokovic, whose best Olympic result was a Bronze medal in Beijing 13 years ago, will face German Alexander Zverev in the last four on Friday after the fourth seed’s 6-4, 6-1 win over Jeremy Chardy.
The top seed could still win two Golds in Tokyo, as he also reached mixed doubles quarter-final alongside Nina Stojanovic.
Rowers finish 11th
Indian rowers Arjun Lal Jat and Arvind Singh ended their Tokyo Games campaign in 11th position in the men’s lightweight double sculls event, the best ever result for the country in the Olympics. The Indian pair clocked 6:29.66 to finish fifth in the Final B and end at 11th overall.