Novak Djokovic suffered an extremely rare pre-final exit in Monte-Carlo, where he lost his opening match to Jiri Vesely. The Serb is one round away from getting back to a final in Madrid, with Kei Nishikori standing in his way on Saturday.
Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori will be squaring off for the 10th time in their careers when they battle for a place in the Mutua Madrid Open title match on Saturday night.
Djokovic is leading the head-to-head series 7-2, including 2-0 on clay. The Serb once trailed 2-1, but he has since reeled off six victories in a row at Nishikori’s expense. Djokovic has won eight consecutive sets dating back to the decider of their 2015 Rome encounter, and none of those eight sets has been more competitive than 6-2. They most recently faced each other earlier this spring in the Miami final, with Djokovic cruising 6-3, 6-3.
Nishikori should at least have some hope heading into this semifinal contest, even though he has not taken down the world No. 1 since the 2014 U.S. Open semis. The sixth seed finished runner-up two years ago in Madrid and was rolling over Nadal before being forced to retire due to a back injury. So far this week Nishikori has defeated Fabio Fognini, Richard Gasquet, and Nick Kyrgios. Fognini actually served for the match in their second-round showdown, but Nishikori has since raised his level dramatically and he won an extremely high-quality three-setter against Kyrgios on Friday.
“I thought it was a great match,” Nishikori commented. “I think he served really well. Even though I had many opportunities in the first and second sets, many break points, I couldn’t convert. If I could [have played] better on those important points, maybe I could [have finished the match in] two sets…. It was a really tough match, so I am very happy to win.”
Djokovic has rebounded from a stunning Monte-Carlo loss to Jiri Vesely with Madrid wins over Borna Coric, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Milos Raonic. No opponent has managed to break the top seed or take more than four games in any set. Raonic served at a decent 68 percent in the quarterfinals and still had no real hope of making the contest especially competitive. Djokovic is now 31-2 for his 2016 campaign and in search of title No. 5.
There is no reason to think this will be anything other than one-way traffic. Not only has Djokovic been positively dominant in their recent meetings, but he will also be well-rested whereas Nishikori is coming off a two-hour and 38-minute battle against Kyrgios.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
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Kei gets the best results when he just goes for broke and keeps moving forward – it’s risky but moving in and then quickly retreating isn’t working. Attack Kei, attack.
Djokovic’s patent air of entitlement and habit of looking aggrieved when he loses a point is getting on my nerves.
Welp. 7-4 Nole ole in da TB. Kei fought it out. Nole needed 5 match points. Good job.
Kei’s serve is too weak on clay. I’ve seen him serve more effectively on hc — maybe not vs Nole though.