Likely London participants Kevin Anderson and Kei Nishikori will battle for the Vienna title on Sunday. In Basel, meanwhile, Roger Federer–who has already won the tournament eight times–will face unseeded Marius Copil.
Erste Bank Open: (5) Kei Nishikori vs. (2) Kevin Anderson
Anderson and Nishikori will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers when they clash in the Erste Bank Open final on Sunday. Nishikori leads the head-to-head series 4-2 after the two veterans split their two most encounters in third-set tiebreakers. A 2017 clay-court encounter in Geneva went Nishikori’s way 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(6) before Anderson got the job done 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(4) earlier this season on the indoor hard courts of New York.
It has only full steam ahead for both players since then, to the extent that this is matchup is a potential Nitto ATP Finals preview. Nishikori is making a late charge for London with a semifinal showing at the U.S. Open and an 11-3 record during the fall swing. So far in Vienna he has taken out Frances Tiafoe, Karen Khachanov, Dominic Thiem, and Mikhail Kukushkin, winning his last three matches in easy straight sets. Anderson, the Wimbledon runner-up, is 43-17 in 2018 with victories this week over Nikoloz Basilashvili, Borna Coric (via second-set retirement), and Fernando Verdasco. The eighth-ranked South African had a tough semifinal against Verdasco during which he received treatment on his right elbow, and Nishikori has been the undisputed best player so far in Vienna.
Pick: Nishikori in 3
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Swiss Indoors Basel: (1) Roger Federer vs. Marius Copil
Death, taxes, and Roger Federer in the Basel final…. Those might as well be the three certainties in life. This is Federer’s 12th appearance in the title match in his last 12 trips to the tournament and he is bidding for his ninth career title. The 37-year-old Swiss struggled at times during wins this week over Filip Krajinovic, Jan-Lennard Struff, and Gilles Simon before picking up the pace to crush an in-form Daniil Medvedev 6-1, 6-4 in the semis.
Up next for Federer on Sunday is a first-ever showdown against Copil, who has made a stunning run to his second career ATP final (previously lost to Mirza Basic this season at the indoor event in Sofia). The 93rd-ranked Romanian mixed in defeats of Americans Ryan Harrison and Taylor Fritz with upsets of Marin Cilic and Alexander Zverev. Copil can make this somewhat competitive on what is obviously his best surface, but Federer simply has too big of a home-court edge in Basel.
Pick: Federer in 2 with at least one tiebreaker
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WWW?
Nishi in three, Fed in two
Same. Not making the mistake of picking against Fed again, but with my record this week I could be jinxing him…
Haha. I thought that too, Ramara.
R. Federer and K. Nishikori.
https://tenngrand.com/daily-picks-2018-1/comment-page-228/#comment-318080
“Death, taxes, and Roger Federer in the Basel final…”
😂
Anderson in a tough 3 sets, and GOAT in straight w/no tbs.
Anderson could meet Nishikori again in Paris,if they both bother to show up
Vienna is slower this year which should help Kei.
Comm0n sense says Federer in three but Copil has had a dream run and defied the odds over snd over again this week to reach the final T.he result is not as NID as usual for TMF in Basel
Federer’s plan is to travel to Paris on Tuesday and play on Wednesday. But he’ll see how he feels tomorrow first and make a final decision.
Expected Nishikori to win but Anderson has been on a roll in 2018. It’s surprising to know that this was his first 500 ever! Both Roger and Kevin had a great week. Roger, however, needs to get better percentage on his first serves. 52% on first serve is just not enough to cut it against the best, in the slams. http://www.138mph.com/atp-tennis-on-roger-federers-houdini-acts-and-kevin-andersons-continued-success/