BEIJING — Andy Murray will meet Kyle Edmund in an all-British quarterfinal at the China Open after the No. 1 seed beat Andrey Kuznetsov in straight sets.
The world No. 2, 29, served five double faults but overcame the Russian 6-2, 6-1 in one hour and 16 minutes.
Edmund, 21, broke Spanish world No. 18 Roberto Bautista Agut in the seventh game of the decider to win 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic has won the China Open for four straight years but the Serb withdrew last week.
Edmund, a qualifier for the hard court event in Beijing, has only met Davis Cup teammate Murray once before, losing in a deciding set on the grass at Queens in 2015.
Fifth-seeded David Ferrer also advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 6-4 win over Fabio Fognini.
Ferrer, who reached the China Open final in 2010 and the semifinals last year before losing to Novak Djokovic both times, is still chasing his first title of the season. The Spaniard has won at least one ATP title in all but one year since 2006.
He will meet German teenager Alexander Zverev who defeated American Jack Sock 6-4, 6-2.
On the women’s side, top seed Angelique Kerber booked her spot in the round of 16, beating Barbora Strycova in two sets, 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).
"I was just trying to be more aggressive, so that was my plan, to just to go for it, and (to make) her run," Kerber said after the match.
The German two-time Grand Slam champion will meet 22-year-old Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who downed Savine Lisicki 6-4, 6-4.
Ninth-ranked 21-year-old Madison Keys dismissed two-time Grand Slam champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, 31, in two sets, 7-6 (7/2), 6-2.
The American is targeting a spot in the final to qualify for the eight-player WTA Finals in Singapore for the first time, but will have to get through two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova in the quarterfinals.
US Open runner-up Karolina Pliskova rallied for a tough 3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7) win over 19-year-old Daria Kasatkina in almost 2-1/2 hours, Johanna Konta wrapped up a rain-delayed 7-5, 6-2 win over Timea Babos, and Daria Gavrilova ousted Timea Bacsinszky 4-6, 6-0, 6-4.
Caroline Garcia fended off Peng Shuai 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (4), ending a tournament for the Chinese wild card that started with an upset first-round win over Venus Williams.
Nishikori, Berdych out
In Tokyo, former champions Kei Nishikori and Tomas Berdych lost at the Japan Open Wednesday.
Top-seeded Nishikori was forced to retire with a left buttock muscle injury in the first set of his second-round match against Joao Sousa.
Third-seeded Berdych fell to Gilles Muller of Luxembourh 7-6 (7), 6-1 in the first round.
Nishikori was 3-0 up when he received medical treatment on his injury while lying face down on the court for several minutes.
The 2012 and 2014 champ served two weak double faults in the next game, and appeared in pain when chasing the ball. He held serve, but lost the next three games before calling a halt while leading 4-3 in his first matchup with Sousa.
Nishikori, ranked No. 5, saw a doctor after the match, and will have a scan Thursday.
Sousa moved on to face fifth-seeded David Goffin, after the Belgian beat Jiri Vesely 6-3, 7-5.
Also, fourth-seeded Marin Cilic rallied to defeat Spanish baseliner Fernando Verdasco 4-6, 7-5, 7-5.
Berdych captured his first ATP title of the season when he retained his Shenzhen Open crown in China Sunday, but his first-round defeat in Tokyo dented his bid for the ATP Finals. He lies ninth in the race for the elite eight-man finals, which he’s played for the last six years.
Muller, a two-time finalist this year, next faces Marcos Baghdatis.
