A relatively surprising Miami semifinal will pit Kei Nishikori against Nick Kyrgios on Friday. The winner will likely earn a shot at Novak Djokovic in Sunday’s championship match.
Kei Nishikori and Nick Kyrgios will be squaring off for the second time in their careers when they collide in the semifinals of the Miami Open on Friday night. Their only previous meeting came last fall in Shanghai, where Nishikori prevailed 1-6, 6-4, 6-4.
Based on their current levels of play, these two competitors–if they can stay healthy–may be on course to face each other again much later this season at the World Tour Finals in London. Nishikori is 18-5 for his 2016 campaign with a title in Memphis and quarterfinal performances at the Australian Open and Indian Wells Masters. The world No. 6 got over the relative quarterfinal hump by saving five match points in a 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) win over Gael Monfils on Thursday. That was preceded by much more routine defeats of Pierre-Hugues Herbert, Alexandr Dolgopolov, and Roberto Bautista Agut.
“Not bad,” when Nishikori was asked how he was holding up physically after outlasting Monfils. “I mean, it’s not going to be 100 percent. It was tough conditions and [we played] long rallies; long match. I have to say [I am] a little bit tired now, but (will) try to get good recovery today and tomorrow morning and try to be ready for tomorrow’s match.”
A red-hot Kyrgios awaits after he upset Milos Raonic 6-4, 7-6(4) on Thursday night. When physically fit, Kyrgios has been just about unbeatable the last two months. The 20-year-old Australian completed dominated the Marseille field en route to his first career ATP title and he reached the Dubai semis before retiring against Stan Wawrinka with a back injury. Illness plagued Kyrgios in Indian Wells, where he lost his opening match to Albert Ramos-Vinolas. Back in business this fortnight, the world No. 26 has not dropped a single set in victories over Marcos Baghdatis, Tim Smyczek, Andrey Kuznetsov, and Raonic.
Even though Nishikori is an aggressive who baseliner who positions himself well on the court, he will be on the defensive against the huge-hitting Kyrgios. That could be a recipe for disaster with Nishikori admittedly less than 100 percent following his absolute battle with Monfils.
Pick: Kyrgios in 2
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I am pleasantly surprised to see Nishi come out and play so well. He’s been schooling Nik. But he did give back the early break in the second set. You don’t want to let Nik back in this match.
Can everyone tell who I am rooting for here?
It’s okay, Nny. I’m rooting for Kei by now too. Just want the best man to win here and that appears to be Kei by a long shot. Although Nick’s improving at the moment.
I thought you wanted a nickole final.
I did. Still think that Nick would get extra charged up playing #1 and it would be fun. The Nick from Marseille would appear. As it is, Kei will be it. Just hope Kei can give Nole a fight.
Actually if Kei played at his best level and Nole is as tired as I think he is from days of playing in the heat, plus a sore back, it might be close. Nole will find a way to win tho, that’s Nole ole.
Shankei.
Nick’s ROS impresses.
If Kei is going to win I hope he does it in 2!
Nishi is so much better player out there…this Nick would not even test Novak…
I am really impressed with Nishi’s ball striking right now. He’s just smothering Nik with his quick shots and not letting him get off a good shot.
We will see if Nishi can break or if it’s going to a TB. Serve still helping Nik.
I’m a big fan of Kei’s ball striking for a long time. He’s absolutely superb tonight! Congrats Kei! Good luck in the final…
That was strong. Kei at his best. Challenged by Monfils – not so much by Nick.
#Skooled
#NID
I think that Nishi would give Novak a better match. I hope he can get the win here.
✌ Nishikori-san!
Nishi-at-Nite does it again!
Congrats to Me.
Commies to those that picked nick. Hint. Hint.
Hope it’s hot and sunny on Sunday.
USO semi revisited?
Congrats to you!…you don’t give anyone enough time to congratulate you ?
Way to go, Nishi! Impressive tennis from the Japanese. Nick not yet ready but he is getting close…
Hope Nishi can keep the momentum and makes a match of it!
Sayonara Nicky!
Ricky’s prediction “in 2” was right, only the name was wrong.
Nick played awful awful tennis. Bad day to have non-stop unforced errors against an opponent with such good consistency. Cost me a pretty penny in betting him today… *THUMBS DOWN*
Gambling addiction has ruined many lives…
haha yes it has. Although I can’t say that about myself when Indian Wells and Miami tournaments paid my mortgage this month lol
Nick is miso-rable.
I told you nicks comeback was tempura-ry.
I’m here until next Thursday. Try the veal.
Kei has a day to rest. Actually, I hope Kei wins. Would be so happy for Kei to get a Master’s title!
But Nole will have time to rest and recover too. So…
It’s gonna be Djokovic in 2. This is gonna be his 3rd straight Indian Well-Miami sweep
… believe it will be.
I would too…but Nole knows Kei way too well to let him play this way…Novak will neutralize Kei’s game and it will again be a lopsided final…good for Novak and his fans, bad for tennis…
yep. Nole and Kei know each other too well. So it’s good for Nole and bad for Kei – Kei has to forget the bad and try to get in there and fight with a clear mind. Hard to do – but Kei is capable of finding an opening, if there is one. He’s looking close to his US Open 2014 level.
Many Nole fans blame the match with Murray for softening up Nole that US Open, thus the reason Kei got that SF GS win. But Kei played that match coming off of a 5 setter with Stan! Kei was trashed after beating Stan and Nole back to back – the final wasn’t very competitive.
It was mostly the heat and humidity what caused Nole the match.
He was gluten-free. And he had breezed through the draw without dropping a set. Andy was his first challenging opponent. I remember feeling good about Nole would win US Open that year. But I also had my eye on Kei. Kei had to go through Milos, Stan, and then Nole. No way did I think Kei would beat Nole! Had a look at it to refresh my memory. It was hot and humid – do remember that. Remember Monfils beating Fed! I actually loved US Open 2014. Cilic/Simon classic in there too. Cilic was a monster.
http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/scores/archive/us-open/560/2014/draws
Monfils didnt beat Fed at US open 2014 Monfils had match point but Fed won in 5. Cilic beat Fed in SF.
Yeah. It was the other way around. Fed won. My pick was a Nole/Fed final with Nole winning.
That was some shot from Nishi to get the win! He beat Nik more easily than I thought.
Nik gave Nishi a nice handshake and a hug at the net! Nice!
I just want Nishi to make a match of it. Novak usually saves his best for the final. It goes without saying that I would love to see Nishi win this masters title! A tall order against Novak.
Me too. And Kei will try. He’s remarkably injury-free right now and it’s not often a chance like this comes around for him.
Yeah US open 2014 was a missed opportunity for Nole who had won Wimbledon, uncharacteristically Nole didnt look good coming into that event, losing to Tsonga in Canada and even more surprisingly losing to Robredo in Cincinnati.
Canada – well, Nole had just won Wimbledon, then he got married, took time off, right? Didn’t expect much from Canada. Cincy, Robredo got him – that was odd. Nole has a way of blowing it at Cincy. Not a huge priority but it would be nice to get that Master’s title someday.
Miami. I don’t care too much, win or lose. What I do care about is him healthy and being at his best for FO.
@ jalep 2:46 AM,
This is exactly what I had on my mind when I said Nole is torturing his body on court and doing it for nothing! Miami is not important for Nole’s records. All it matters now are FO and the Olympics. Of course GS titles in general is what he should be focused on. The rest is so irrelevant IMO…
And he puts his body under tremendous pressure here…I read he is vegan now and I wonder how will he find the energy to go on like this…it’s unwise to push himself to the limit for a master title when he has already secured his place in the history in that regard…
That’s the first time I’ve heard he has turned vegan. Is there any precedent for an active top player following a vegan regime? He has believed for a long time in holistic medicine but a vegan diet is taking it to extreme lengths. My sister remarked a few weeks ago how he has aged and looks very gaunt. Also the commentators remarked several times how listless he was yesterday.
As far as records go, he shares the same passion as Federer for entering the history books. He wont be satisfied till he has surpassed as many records as possible – particularly those of Roger and Rafa.
What’s the source of him turning vegan?
I’d fund that very surprising and doubt anyone could sustain an elite level at the top of the game.
Venus is vegan now and even serena did a short period when she won the French in 2011 but I’d still be surprised.
agreed! would be truly shocking if this is true
natashao,
He can appear listless, red-faced, mouth-breathing – it’s dramatic on court. I don’t think he’s truly had a problem in the heat since 2009. He might not be the best on tour in the heat and humidity but he’s not bad like he was before going gluten-free and making the changes he did in 2010. He continues to fine tune himself.
The back trouble and calling for a trainer had me going the other day. Then he comes out fine the next day. Versus Goffin, he appeared to feel terrible — then I rush over to read comments on tennis-x and I get caught up in it. But I see him in an post-match interview, watch more of the match, and shake my head. He’s fine for completing Miami.
Will he be peaking at the right time for FO or over-played? That’s a concern. He must know what he’s doing at this point. As far as going Vegan, that’s news to me – not necessarily surprising. I don’t know enough about it other than I’ve tried going vegan and it’s not for me.
It’s important to remember how well he has played considering the heat. He was absolutely smooth and seamless at enough times in between appearing to suffer. I’ll wait and see.
rc,
I think you are right about Novak. Regarding pushing his body to win Miami, we should keep in mind that masters tournaments are mandatory. So what is Novak supposed to do, just lose on purpose?
Winning breeds winning. The more a player wins, the better they feel, the more confident, the more belief they have, this aura of invincibility gets stronger.
Novak seems to have this sense of how much he has to do in order to win. That’s why he doesn’t look that great in the early rounds.
I don’t see him overplaying at all. He’s playing in the required tournaments, he can’t pick and choose. This is someone who is already guaranteed to finish the year at # 1 again. He’s got such a big lead in rankings points and no one can catch him. So he’s playing for the history books now.
I don’t know about this vegan thing. I would find it surprising if he’s really gone vegan.
This idea that he is pushing his body is just really absurd. He knows his physical limits and seems to have managed himself quite well.
Exactly, about this being mandatory – and the other masters tournament coming up. As I said, he knows what he’s doing – my concern aside.
After his Goffin win he blew a kiss to the crowd, kissed his hand and patted the court. There was no collapsing with exhaustion. Also did notice the veins standing out on his legs like they do on skinny pro cyclists – hadn’t seen that before. I wish I had a picture of Johnny Hoogerland’s legs and Nole’s to post.
Yup he knows exactly what he’s doing.
He knows that heat can be a factor in Paris as it was when he lost to Rafa in the 2014 final which was also extremely hot and humid. Nole wilted. The hot weather in Miami is perfect training for him both mentally and physically should such conditions occur at the French this year.
Nole does everything for a reason these days.
—He knows that heat can be a factor in Paris as it was when he lost to Rafa in the 2014 final which was also extremely hot and humid. Nole wilted. (AT 4:45 PM)—
===
.
So, now weather is being blamed for Djoko’s defeat. I wonder what’s next.
Nole’s fans told me about Novak becoming vegan, it’s published in an interview with him and Jelena in the Serbian magazine! In fact Jelena has instructed him to follow tge regime as she has decided to go in tgat direction. When I see them these days I will ask for the source and will post the link…
this is news! thanks for sharing. Why has he turned vegan :s
I have not had the time to follow Djokovic much this week but you guys are saying he is looking listless on the court and all. What’s going on?
I picked Nole because his brand of tennis will neutralize Kei’s…. Kei’s groundstrokes are high-risk as compared to Nole’s and the serb has a better serve and return.
But, I don’t know about the current state of novak much…. I just read he also had a back massage for lower back spasms when playing Berdych.
Well, I am supporting Kei… Would be happy if he can stop Djokovic and prevent him from crossing rafa’s record before the clay court season begins.
It’s just been the excessive humidity imo giving him that drained depleted red faced gaunt look.
Kei can take it to him in that state like he did at USO 2014.
yeah…remember that quite well
i think kei can win. if nole is at his best obviously he wins easily.
but if he is drained by heat and out of sorts as he has been on and off then kei winning is a real possiblity
I fell for it with Kei during the Dolgo match. Kei appeared quite out of it in the last few games. But Kei recovered well, went on to have that exhausting match with Monfils, then I was skeptical again. So he comes out looking like he could have beat Kyrgios twice more in the same day.
I wouldn’t count on Nole being depleted. At USO 2014, though I didn’t think of it at the time, he was soft and under-played if anything, due to the marriage, vacation, ect. His draw was easy until Murray – then Kei. After US Open, Nole got became a superman again – one slip to Federer in Shanghai was all there was in the fall of 2014.
It’s harder for me to know about Kei. His tennis level simply appears way better than in Memphis. I’m convinced the reason Kei won that again was the competition. Miami: I like what I’m seeing. Win or lose it’s a great result for Kei — he should go out with nothing to lose; or, I can also see play too tight and blow it.
rc,
I think that Nishi is looking very good right now. He certainly has the game to make this a competitive match. I am hoping that this is what happens. Nishi has shown that he is fit enough to handle these very tough conditions in Miami this week. That’s a good sign.
I think the weather will cool off somewhat for tomorrow. But it will still be humid. We know that Novak reserves his best tennis for the final. I would love to see Nishi do the same.
It could go either way with Nishi. This is a great result for him no matter what.
Thanks, Nny
I’ve been studying the weather for Miami this morning. It’s going to be stifling heat for the Women’s Final. Poor Vika and Sveta.
There could be thunderstorms tomorrow?
Yes, people seem to forget how bad conditiond can get in Florida. It’s been unusually got and humid here this week. Much worse than usual. So I think that Novak is just looking tired from playing in this excessive humidity.
I don’t think that Goffin would have made it so close had it not been for the conditions, the same conditions that knocked Rafa out.
Also believe that same conditions caused him to lose to kei in 2014.
He’s been much improved in the heat since but this week you can see it affecting his shots at times.
I can see the potential for the upset in those same conditions tomorrow.
At any rate I think it will be much closer than their last two meetings under much different conditions.
We gonna see.
We gonna see ?
Agree it could be much closer than their last two meetings.
Are you picking Kei?
Only if it’s sunny mid 80s and humid.
Otherwise no.
I will update my pick on game day.
#StayTuned
#HawkstradamusRising
I think it’s going to be a close match. I wish that I had the guts to come out and pick Nishi. Even Ricky predicted a 3 set match. That says something. I would be thrilled to see Nishi get this win.
lol. Thia thread was meant to be a prediction for the Nishi v kyrgios match which has not be mentioned. Instead it is all about Djokovic v Nishi and the weather forecast.
?