Stan Wawrinka breezed into the round of 16 of the Indian Wells ATP Masters event on Tuesday (AEDT) and saw another seed removed from his path to the final when lucky loser Yoshihito Nishioka of Japan turned his match against Tomas Berdych upside down.
Swiss third seed Wawrinka romped past Philipp Kohlschreiber 7-5 6-3 and will next face Nishioki, rather than Berdych, after the 21-year-old Japanese overcame a 6-1 5-2 deficit and survived being match point down for a stunning 1-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4 win over the 13th-seeded Czech.
The top half of the draw has already lost world No.1 Andy Murray and offers rather smoother sailing than the bottom half, which features multiple grand slam winners Roger Federer, Rafa Nadal and Novak Djokovic, and Australia's Nick Kyrgios, who plays Alexander Zverev on Wednesday (AEDT).
Wawrinka needed just 78 minutes to improve his career record against Germany's Kohlschreiber to 5-0.
"I was serving well," the 31-year-old said. "I think I'm moving better and better, and it's all positive so far.
"I'm feeling good in my body, so that's the most important."
Eighth seed Dominic Thiem of Austria won his third round match against Mischa Zverev 6-1 6-4 in less than an hour while No. 10 seed Gael Monfils got the better of John Isner 6-2 6-4.
Belgian David Goffin defeated Albert Ramos-Vinolas 7-6 (7-3) 6-4 and Pablo Cuevas beat Fabio Fognini 6-1 6-4.
Two days after ousting top seed Murray, Vasek Pospisil's run in Indian Wells came to an end as he fell to fellow qualifier Dusan Lajovic of Serbia 6-7 (7-4) 6-3 7-5.
Pospisil served for the match at 5-3 in the third set but was broken to love and the Canadian went on to squander a match point in the 10th game before Lajovic prevailed.
Lajovic, ranked 106, will face Pablo Carreno Busta, who earned a free pass into the fourth round after fellow Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut withdrew before their match due to an abdominal muscle injury.
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