Kei Nishikori didn't care he'd made history at the French Open.
The first Japanese man in 75 years to reach the last 16 was nonplussed because he expected to get this far on Saturday.
''Sorry, I'm not good at history,'' he said, playing down the significance of his result. ''I'm seeded 13 here, so I have to kind of go through these couple (of) rounds.''
In beating No. 24-seeded Benoit Paire of France 6-3, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-1, Nishikori matched Fumiteru Nakano, who lost in the fourth round in Paris in 1938.
Nishikori said he had never heard of Nakano.
The match was almost overshadowed by Paire being docked a point for being coached.
Paire had a set point while leading 5-4 in the second and Nishikori serving. But Paire was given a point penalty by chair umpire Enric Molina for coaching, which is not allowed at Grand Slams, and Nishikori wound up holding serve.
Paire said later his coach, Lionel Zimbler, was merely putting his hands in the air to offer encouragement. Zimbler moved both hands forward in a kind of pushing motion.
''For sure, it's not fair. You see every coach do the same thing,'' Paire said. ''If it's the best player in the world, (Molina) doesn't (give a) warning.''
The incident had no effect on Nishikori.
''I didn't see it, and I didn't know what's happening in the match,'' Nishikori said. ''They didn't explain (it to) me, and I didn't care ... I was just trying to concentrate (on) myself.''
Paire did manage to win that set, anyway, but was broken in the last game of the third when he missed a drop shot.
