Fifth seed Nishikori earned a semi spot by beating Alexandr Dolgopolov, the 2012 Brisbane runnerup.
The British number one, seeded second, will play Ivan Ljubicic next after he beat Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3 7-6 (7-2).
Striking works by Liubov Popova, Alexandr Rodchenko, Ivan Kliun, and other Russians make for a superb cameo survey within the show.
Alexandr Dolgopolov, the No. 16 seed, was knocked out by fellow Ukrainian Sergiy Stakhovsky , who triumphed 6-7 6-4 7-6 3-6 6-3.
His fellow American Sam Querrey lost to Australia's 19-year-old rising star Bernard Tomic , who will next face Ukrainian 13th seed Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Next up for the British world number four is France's Jeremy Chardy after he beat Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine 6-1 5-7 6-2.
In other first round matches, Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov beat Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus 6-4 6-4 and Spain's Nicolas Almagro defeated Poland's Lukasz Kubot 7-5 6-2.
Andrei and Alexandr Bahdanovich of Belarus won gold in the men's 1, 000 meter doubles , storming from behind to edge Germany in a thrilling finish.
Despite an early wobble, Ukhov overcame the European outdoor champion and fellow Russian, Alexandr Shustov, to retain his title with a world-leading jump of 2.38m.
Djokovic, seeking his fourth Key Biscayne title and third in a row, next faces No. 15-seeded Tommy Haas, who beat No. 19 Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-3, 6-2.
It unites the great names of Russian culture: Michail Glinka and Alexandr Pushkin, maestro Vladimir Jurowski, and one of the most talented opera directors in the world, Dmitri Tcherniakov.
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Federer's charge to wrestle the Shanghai crown from Andy Murray looks set to be a lot tougher, as the U.S. open champion dismissed the challenge of Ukraine's Alexandr Dolgopolov 6-2 6-2.
Tenth seed David Ferrer was taken to three sets in a 3-6 6-3 6-4 victory over Alexandr Dolgopolov but 13th seed Jurgen Melzer had little trouble in dispatching qualifier Santiago Giraldo 6-1 6-4.
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The top seven seeds receive a bye into the second round and the world No. 5 Juan Martin Del Potro made hard work of his place in the third round after a battle with Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Ukhov will now look to take his indoor supremacy outdoors and challenge the likes of compatriot Alexandr Shustov at a number of Diamond League meetings and ultimately at the World Championships in Daegu, South Korea in August.
Japan's Kei Nishikori reached the last eight thanks to a 6-3 6-3 win over Spain's Tommy Robredo, while Alexandr Dolgopolov of Ukraine progressed when Finland's Jarkko Nieminen retired due to a migraine with the Ukrainian ahead 6-2 4-1.
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