New York, Sep 4 (IANS): Seventh seed Marin Cilic of Croatia defeated Belgium's David Goffin 7-6 (6), 6-2, 6-4, to enter the quarter-finals at the US Open tennis tournament here.

The 29-year-old Cilic's next rival at his 10th US Open will be Japan's Kei Nishikori, the 21st seed, who defeated Germany's Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 earlier on Monday, reports EFE news agency.

The upcoming duel between Cilic and Nishikori will be the 15th they have played with their record so far being eight for the Croatian and six for the Japanese player.

Cilic won their contest at the US Open in 2014 6-3, 6-3 and 6-3 to take home his first Grand Slam title.

The Croatian said after defeating Goffin that the upcoming match will be competitive and difficult for both him and Nishikori, adding that now he just wants to "rest, recover my strength and then I'll think about the duel with Nishikori."

Monday's match was played on the hard court at the Louis Armstrong Stadium, where Cilic needed two hours and 24 minutes to finish off Goffin, hitting 42 winners, including 12 aces, and committing 48 unforced errors, while his rival fired 19 aces and committed 35 unforced errors.