WIMBLEDON, England (AP) - Kei Nishikori became the first Japanese man in 17 years to reach the third round of Wimbledon by beating Florent Serra 6-3, 7-5, 6-2 on Thursday.

The 19th-seeded Nishikori had 45 winners to break Serra eight times and wrap up the win in 1 hour, 45 minutes on Court 17.

The last Japanese man to reach the round of 32 at Wimbledon was Shuzo Matsuoka in 1995. Nishikori said he trained with Matsuoka as a kid and still keeps in touch with him regularly. He said Matsuoka sent him an email after Thursday's match, and that ``he's always helping me.''

Nishikori won his only ATP tour title in 2008 in Delray Beach but made two finals last year, including in Basel where he lost to Roger Federer.