Goffin enhances ATP Finals chances in Tokyo

David Goffin's quest to reach the ATP Finals continued on Friday as he overcame a slow start to beat Richard Gasquet 7-5 6-2 in the Japan Open quarter-finals.

The Belgian won the Shenzhen Open last week and is on course to repeat that feat in Tokyo, where he lost last year's final to Nick Kyrgios.

Goffin fought back from 5-2 down and three set points for Gasquet to take the opener, before two breaks of serve wrapped up a comfortable second and extended his winning run to seven matches.

The number four seed started the week 13th in the Race to London but has since risen to 11th and now sits just 15 points adrift of Sam Querrey in the final qualification spot, with 60 on offer to the winner in Tokyo, where the American was eliminated in the first round.

Goffin faces Diego Schwartzman in Saturday's semi-finals after the Argentine beat Steve Johnson 6-0 7-5 to reach his second ATP World Tour semi.

The other last-four clash sees top seed Marin Cilic take on Adrian Mannarino, following wins against Ryan Harrison and Yuichi Sugita respectively.

Cilic wasted no time in dispatching Harrison 6-2 6-0 in under an hour, while Mannarino's victory avenged his defeat to Sugita in the Antalya Open final.

"It was definitely the best match for me this week, everything was functioning well from the beginning to the end," said Cilic.

"I was serving exceptionally well, I played aggressively and was able to return his serve. To play like this is a big boost for my confidence, something I was focusing on."