Kei Nishikori has earned a place in the quarter-finals of the Barcelona Open with a 6-2 6-1 victory over Santiago Giraldo in the third round.

The number one seed started strongly by going a break up at the first time of asking and he battled to claim a 4-0 lead by converting on his third break-point opportunity.

Giraldo eventually managed to strike and go a break up in a lengthy fifth game, but losing serve didn't affect Nishikori as he later broke to win the set.

After taking the lead, the Japanese player went from strength to strength on the clay surface as he soared to a 5-0 lead, and only dropped one game in the second set before wrapping up the contest.