Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic remained on a collision course for a potential blockbuster Rolex Shanghai Masters title match, winning their respective quarterfinal contests on Friday.
Federer won in straight sets for the first time this week, beating Nitto ATP Finals hopeful Kei Nishikori 4-6, 7-6(4) in one hour and 52 minutes. The world No. 2 struck 10 aces 10 aces compared to just one double-fault while serving at a strong 71 percent.
Two breaks in the opening set were enough for Federer, who appeared to seize complete control when he earned another break to being the second. Nishikori, however, soon broke back for 3-3 and eventually forced a tiebreaker. Japan’s top player raced to a 4-1 advantage in the ‘breaker only to see Federer win the last six points of the match.
“(In the) second set I think we both played good tennis,” Nishikori said. “But (I’m) sad to lose like that…. Maybe next time.”
“It was a tough match,” Federer assured. “Obviously Kei hogs the baseline much more than (Daniil) Medvedev did or also what [Roberto Bautista Agut] did. I think it was a different type of match. I was very happy with the beginning of the match, to be quite honest. I played quite great there. Then the second set was key moments who was going to play a little bit better. Kei really tried to step it up one more time. I somehow got it done, so I was very pleased.
“I think I can be very happy with the level of play this week,” he continued. “There was some good ball striking going on from both of us today. I hope I can keep it up for tomorrow.”
Friday highlights:
Up next for Federer on Satuday is Borna Coric, who scored a straight-set victory over Matthew Ebden. They are joined in the semis by Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev. Djokovic was especially impressive in a 7-6(1), 6-3 defeat of Kevin Anderson.
“I faced one (break point) today, and it was a set point,” the three-time Shanghai champion reflected. “I managed to pull through that one, and I haven’t lost too many points on my serve. So I think that’s a part of my game that maybe is undervalued in a way. But that helps me, obviously, when I have an opportunity to step in on a second serve or swing through in the baseline points…. The conditions are very quick, so holding your serve comfortably is probably the key.”
Zverev, meanwhile, officially clinched his London spot by defeating Kyle Edmund 6-4, 6-4.
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Djoker looked tough to beat
I would like to know what % of 1st sets Nishikori loses. He seems to do that quite often. It looks like he can’t get going until the 2nd set. He can’t do that against the top guys and expect to win. Just an observation, don’t know if it’s correct.