Paris - Japanese seventh seed Kei Nishikori battled into the French Open fourth round for the fifth successive year on Friday with a marathon 6-4, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, 4-6, 8-6 win over Serbia's Laslo Djere.

Nishikori won through in four hours and 26 minutes - the second longest match of the tournament - and next faces France's Benoit Paire for a quarter-final place.