MELBOURNE, Australia -- Stan Wawrinka stayed in contention for a second consecutive Australian Open title with a 7-6 (2) 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (8) win over Guillermo Garcia-Lopez on Monday to advance to the quarterfinals.
Meanwhile, top-seeded Novak Djokovic reached his 23rd consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal with a 6-4, 7-5, 7-5 win over Luxembourg's Gilles Muller.
Wawrinka saved four set points in the last tiebreaker while trailing 6-2, then saved a fifth before clinching the 3-hour, 2-minute match on his second match point.
The win helped Wawrinka get some payback against Garcia-Lopez, who beat him in the first round at last year's French Open, making Wawrinka the first first-time major winner to lose his opening match at the subsequent Grand Slam since Lleyton Hewitt lost at the 2002 Australian Open after winning the 2001 US Open.
In the quarterfinals Wawrinka will face US Open finalist Kei Nishikori, who advanced on Monday with a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 win over No. 9-seeded David Ferrer of Spain.
"He's a great shot-maker. He can make winners. He's always taking the ball really early. It's always tough to play against him," Wawrinka said of Nishikori. "We'll see how I'm going to deal with that."
Hundreds of Japanese fans, many waving flags and some in traditional costumes, cheered Nishikori on from the stands at Rod Laver Arena.
The fifth-seeded Nishikori, who became the first Asian man to reach a Grand Slam final at the US Open, was a quarterfinalist here in 2012.
"I'm really new to be No. 5, so I'm still not comfortable," Nishikori said. "I think I feel more pressure than before. I think I need more time to get used to it."
Asked what number he might feel more comfortable with, Nishikori smiled. "Maybe like, 15 or 20."
Nishikori held a 6-3 edge in career meetings against Ferrer coming into the match, but was 1-1 at Grand Slam tournaments.
As an 18-year-old, Nishikori beat Ferrer in the third round of the 2008 US Open -- his second career major. Ferrer beat Nishikori at the Australian Open two years ago in the fourth round.
Djokovic is trying to become the second man after Roy Emerson to win five Australian Open titles. He's also aiming for his eighth major title overall.
The top-seeded Serb hasn't lost a set yet in the tournament. He was rarely in trouble against Muller, saving all four break points he faced and hitting 47 winners to just 16 unforced errors.
He next faces eighth-seeded Canadian Milos Raonic, against whom he has a 4-0 head-to-head record.
The last time Djokovic failed to reach the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam was at the 2009 French Open.
The big-serving Raonic advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 4-6, 6-3, 6-7 (7), 6-3 win over Feliciano Lopez of Spain.
After breaking Lopez's serve in the eighth game of the final set, Raonic, the eighth seed who reached the semifinals at Wimbledon last year, won all four points in the next game to clinch the match. He had 30 aces but wasn't helped by his inability to convert break-point chances, going just 3-of-13 in the match.
No. 12-seeded Lopez saved two match points during the fourth-set tiebreaker, the third match in a row he has saved a match point.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.