If Kei Nishikori ends up falling short of a berth in the Nitto ATP Finals, Kevin Anderson may be the reason why. Rafael Nadal, Juan Martin Del Potro, and John Isner could also have a say in Nishikori’s London status, but for now it is Anderson on whom Japan’s top player is once again focused.
The 6’8” South African is 2-0 in the head-to-head series this season, with a victory in the New York Open semifinals and an even bigger win in last week’s Erste Bank Open title match. The latter result prevented Nishikori from taking a full 500 points from Vienna, which would have almost certainly guaranteed him a spot in the year-end championship.
Just four days later, Anderson and Nishikori will face each other again during third-round action at the Rolex Paris Masters on Thursday. Nishikori cruised past Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 6-4 in his opener, while Anderson edged Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-3, 6-7(3), 7-6(3).
“(I) had to really dig deep to come through today,” said the world No. 6, who also beat Basilashvili in Vienna–improving to 3-0 in that head-to-head series, with all three victories coming in 2018. “Fortunately for me in the third set I started having a few more looks on his serve and I picked up my game a little bit.
“Of course it’s going to be a tough match (against Nishikori),” Anderson continued. “Tennis is interesting and I guess funny in that aspect, playing each other in the finals here just a few days later–and playing Nicolas last week in Vienna, too. It’s always a tough challenge playing Kei. I’m going to have to again play great tennis; I felt I played a great match against him in the (Vienna) finals. I’m sure he’s going to be extra motivated, so I’m going to be have to be ready to go from the very first game.”
Nishikori is currently ninth in the race to London, but Del Potro is almost certain to withdraw. If Nadal also pulls out, the world No. 11 would be a virtual lock regardless of what transpires in Paris. A loss to Anderson combined with an eventual Paris semifinal performance by Isner would leave Nishikori on the outside–if either Nadal or Del Potro participates at the O2 Arena.
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