As round-robin play concluded, it was Andy Murray and Kei Nishikori advancing to the semifinals of the ATP World Tour Finals in London.

Murray took a big step towards finishing the season ranked world no. 1 after an impressive 6-4, 6-2 win against Stan Wawrinka. The victory gave the Scot a berth in the semifinals.

Murray needed just a set to clinch a spot in the knockout round and he gained control of that with a break of serve to go to 4-3 in the first set.  Once he gained the service break, he would not relinquish his advantage and closed out the set on his serve.

The second set came quicker for Murray who earned two service breaks and breezed to a 4-0 lead. A frustrated Wawrinka, who broke two rackets in the set, had no answer and the match was in the books after just an hour and 28 minutes.

“The first set was tight, there were not many chances either way,” Murray said. “In the second set I knew I'd already qualified, so it was easier for me to play freely. But things can change quickly at this level, Stan is one of the best in the world when he's on his game. With his best tennis, he's unplayable. I maintained my level and played a solid match, I'm very happy to get through to the semi-final.”

It was the 22nd straight win for Murray who will face Milos Raonic in the semifinals on Saturday.

With the straight set loss, Nishikori automatically advanced to the semifinals regardless of the outcome of his match against Marin Cilic.

In that match, Nishikori took advantage of his sharp baseline skills and movement in the opening set. He broke the Croat twice despite his five aces in the set. The Japan native appeared to have the match at his pace and style.

However, in the second set, the world no. 5 lost some mental focus and he found himself in a hole too large to overcome as the set went quickly to Cilic.

Cilic continued the momentum in the third set and gained a huge break in the heart of the set. He would gain another break to ice the match against a player who began to appear as though he was looking ahead to Saturday’s semifinals, at times.

The Croat had been eliminated prior to the match but equaled both Wawrinka and Nishikori with one win in the group. He would clinch his career-high ranking of world no. 6 with the victory.

Nishikori advanced and will face Novak Djokovic in Saturday semifinals.