Nishikori makes winning start in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Japan's Kei Nishikori breezed past American Rajeev Ram 6-2 6-3 in the Malaysian Open on Wednesday on his return to the court after his U.S. Open final defeat earlier this month.

(Reuters)

The top seed took just 65 minutes to dismiss Ram, boosting his chances of grabbing one of the eight spots for the year-ending ATP World Tour Finals in London.

The 24-year-old Japanese, ranked eighth in the world, defeated world number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-final at the U.S. Open but lost to Marin Cilic.

Nishikori will next take on Australian Marinko Matosevic in the quarter-finals of the hard-court tournament in the Malaysian capital.

(Writing by Sudipto Ganguly in Mumbai; editing by Clare Lovell)