Australian Open 2016, Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori: Where to watch live, preview and betting odds

World number one and defending champion Novak Djokovic takes on seventh seed Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals of the 2016 Australian Open on Tuesday (26 January). The number one seed played a gruelling encounter against Gilles Simon to make his way into the next round in a match which lasted over four hours.

Where to Watch Live

The match starts at 8.15am GMT. Live coverage will be available on Eurosport 1, Eurosport 1 HD, Eurosport 2 and Eurosport HD.. Live scores and real-time internet updates are available on the Australian Open official website.

Overview

Djokovic beat Simon to make way into his 27th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final. It was a game to forget for Djokovic, who committed 100 unforced errors and converted only six of the 25 break points he earned in the entire game. The Serbian toiled for rhythm but found himself coming short against Simon, who was playing some good tennis to put him off his game.

The defending champion won the fixture 6-3, 6-7(1), 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, losing the second set down to a tie-breaker while failing to hold serve in the fourth. However, he showed immense mental strength to come back in the fifth and final set to progress into the quarter-finals.

Simon had adopted a great strategy to thwart Djokovic, taking the pace off the ball and camping a few feet outside the baseline, making it difficult for the number one seed to take points early. Simon also took care to keep Djokovic off the net with some quality shots, making it one of the more difficult games the Serbian has had to survive in the last couple of years.

Meanwhile, his opponent to be in the quarters, Nishikori, got the better of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in straight sets 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 putting an end to his hopes of making it to the finals of the competition in successive years. Tsonga defeated Rafael Nadal last year to power into the finals of the competition but was undone by the Japanese this time around, who will now take on Djokovic hoping to replicate his win from the 2014 US Open semi-finals.

Betting Odds (888Sport)

• Djokovic Win: 2/17
• Nishikori Win: 11/2

Head to Head

The duo have met each other on seven occasions, with Djokovic leading the encounters at 5 matches to two.