Both Novak Djokovic and Jarkko Nieminen are coming off consecutive three-setters as they head into a Monte-Carlo quarterfinal clash on Friday. Djokovic overcame Juan Monaco on Thursday while Nieminen has won two straight third-set tiebreakers, against Milos Raonic and Juan Martin Del Potro.
Novak Djokovic and Jarkko Nieminen will be squaring off for the fifth time in their careers when they meet in the quarterfinals of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Friday afternoon.
Djokovic is leading the head-to-head series 3-1, including 1-0 on clay. Their only previous encounter on the slow stuff came at the 2007 Hamburg Masters, where the Serb prevailed 7-5, 4-6, 6-4. Nieminen’s lone victory over the current world No. 1 came at the 2009 Sydney event. They have not faced each other since Basel in the fall of 2010, when Djokovic scored a 6-4, 7-6(6) win.
Nieminen’s run to the last eight has been a brilliant one. After destroying Viktor Troicki in his opener, the 49th-ranked Finn upset both Milos Raonic and Juan Martin Del Potro in third-set tiebreakers. Nieminen, a semifinalist in Montepellier and a quarterfinalist in Sydney and Rotterdam, is an impressive 17-8 for the season.
Djokovic is bouncing back from an ankle injury sustained earlier this month in Davis Cup, although he is not exactly doing it in convincing fashion. Monte-Carlo’s top seed came back from a set down to beat both Mikhail Youzhny on Wednesday and Juan Monaco on Thursday. Djokovic is 23-2 for his 2013 campaign, which features titles at the Australian Open and in Dubai.
This may actually be a level playing field for the favorite, because Nieminen was struggling physically at the end of his grueling showdown with Del Potro. Unless Djokovic is hobbled even worse than in his previous rounds, he should advance without too much trouble.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
[polldaddy poll=7046270]
Leave a Reply