Familiar foes Tomas Berdych and Stan Wawrinka will face each other again on Sunday in Rotterdam. Another title–in Memphis–will be decided by Kei Nishikori and Sam Querrey.
(3) Tomas Berdych vs. (4) Stan Wawrinka
Berdych and Wawrinka will be squaring off for the 16th time in their careers when they battle for the ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament title on Sunday. Wawrinka leads the head-to-head series 10-5 after winning five in a row at the Czech’s expense dating back to the spring of 2013. The Swiss most recently dominated 6-1, 6-1 during round-robin action at the World Tour Finals last fall.
In addition to being a more respectable 5-7 against Wawrinka on either hard courts or carpet, the good news for Berdych is that he is in incredible form this season. The world No. 7 is 13-2 with a runner-up showing in Doha, a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open, and wins this week over Tobias Kamke, Andreas Seppi, Gael Monfils, and Gilles Simon. Wawrinka has advanced by defeating Jesse Huta Galung, Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, Gilles Muller, and Milos Raonic. Rotterdam’s No. 4 seed seems to have improved with each match, but his level has not matched that of his upcoming opponent. The fact that Berdych is the defending champion will only add to his already sky-high confidence.
Pick: Berdych in 3
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(1) Kei Nishikori vs. (2) Kevin Anderson
Speaking of defending champions, Nishikori is aiming for a third consecutive title at the Memphis Open. The Japanese star has been far from dominant this week, but he still managed to book his spot in the final. His road includes three-set wins over Ryan Harrison, Austin Krajicek, and Sam Querrey–the latter in a final-set tiebreaker.
Up next for Nishikori is Anderson, against whom the top seed is 1-0 lifetime. Their only previous encounter came in 2010 Washington, D.C. qualifying, with Nishikori prevailing 4-6, 7-6(4), 6-4. Anderson cruised past Sam Groth and Steve Johnson earlier in the week before overcoming Donald Young 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Saturday. The 6’8” South African is 0-5 in his last five ATP finals and all five have progressed to three sets. Nishikori, on the other hand, is 6-2 in his last eight title matches. In what is sure to be a close one based on current form, Nishikori should have a clear edge in the pressure-packed moments.
Pick: Nishikori in 3
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