Saturday’s action in Paris will be all about the BNP Paribas Masters semifinals–nothing more, as London spots were decided on Friday. Novak Djokovic, Kei Nishikori, Tomas Berdych, and Milos Raonic can focus on playing for a berth in the title match.
(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (6) Kei Nishikori
It will be a rematch of the U.S. Open semifinals when Djokovic and Nishikori meet again in the semis of the BNP Paribas Masters on Saturday. Nishikori owns a surprising 2-1 edge in the head-to-head series after upsetting Djokovic 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 in New York. The Japanese sensation is 2-0 on hard courts, as he also prevailed three years ago in Basel after Djokovic had scored a straight-set victory at the 2010 French Open.
Nishikori guaranteed his spot in the World Tour Finals on Friday with a grueling, pressure-packed 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 defeat of fellow London contender David Ferrer. The world No. 7 also needed three sets to beat both Tommy Robredo and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Djokovic has made made much quicker work of Philipp Kohlschreiber, Gael Monfils, and Andy Murray. It is time for Nishikori to get some much-needed rest for London, whereas Djokovic will forge ahead in his bid to finish the season ranked No. 1 in the world.
Pick: Djokovic in 2
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(5) Tomas Berdych vs. (7) Milos Raonic
Berdych and Raonic will be squaring off for just the fourth time in their careers on Saturday. Raonic leads the head-to-head series 2-1 and all three of their previous matches have been contested on hard courts. Their most recent meeting also came at this same Paris event in 2013, when Berdych advanced to the quarterfinals with a 7-6(13), 6-4 victory. Raonic’s wins came two years ago in Cincinnati (6-4, 2-6, 6-2) and last fall in the Bangkok final (7-6(4), 6-3).
Both men clinched spots in London on Friday. Berdych accomplished it first by improving to 12-0 lifetime against Kevin Anderson via a 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-4 scoreline. The fifth-ranked Czech preceded that effort with scalps of Adrian Mannarino and Feliciano Lopez. Raonic stunned Roger Federer 7-6(5), 7-5 earlier in the day to keep his hopes alive before officially clinching when Ferrer lost to Nishikori. The Canadian looked like a man possessed to reach the year-end championship and now an edge might be taken off. Able to exhale, Raonic mentally could be on the fast track to London.
Pick: Berdych in 3
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Raonic played like a man possessed to earn his WTF spot but agree with RD it’s hard to believe he will be able to bring the same intensity for the SF.
Berdych in 3
Ditto Nishikori who got the better of Ferrer in a tough error-strewn fight last night.
Djokovic in 2
ed251137 (at 9:01 am),
Did you watch Raonic’s QF match? Yesterday you wrote: ” I wont invest any time watching the ‘catch up’.”
Curiosity got the better of me but I cheated by skipping to the 2nd set………………….
I’m adding that match to the list of losses Federer has suffered when playing matches which carry the chance to add another record for the history book. Possibly he is pacing himself for the WTF and DC and was not prepared to spill his guts on the court at Bercy. Who knows.
When someone defeats Rafa, there is a huge headline about that. I am wondering why there is no headline announcing Fed’s loss.
Probably because beating Federer is nothing to write home about.
ed, I’m not so sure Berdych in his current form can beat Raonic if Raonic serves like he did yesterday. Berdych has been really tentative in Paris; he barely beat Kevin who wasn’t exactly playing good tennis.
RT @juan_jo_sports: “Milos Raonic, the youngest WTFs debutant in the field, is 23 years old. At that age, Andy Roddick had already played in 2 WTFs.”
RT @juan_jo_sports: “At 23 years old, Lleyton Hewitt had already played in 4 WTFs, winning 2 and losing in the 2004 edition to RF in the final.”
During the Kei/Ferru warm up yesterday, the commie started going on about how good Kei is because he nearly beat Rafa in Madrid. He said nothing about the fact that Kei actually beat Nole at the USO, on hard court, considering he would play Nole in the next round if they both won their matches.
Rafa is the standard tool to measure everything!
http://www.sherv.net/cm/emoticons/tennis/ready-for-tennis-smiley-emoticon.gif
Level of play has been outstanding in Paris thus far…just some fantastic tennis. I like Joker in straight and Berdych in 3.
That depends on whether you are easily pleased.
@scootd “Level of play has been outstanding”
Which matches do you rate as outstanding tennis from both players at the same time?
There have been some interesting matches (largely due to the fight to qualify for the WTF) but imo I wouldn’t describe it as a week of fantastic tennis.
You certainly couldn’t describe this SF as either outstanding or fantastic……………….
What has been a noticeable at Bercy are the excellent line judges and ball kids.
Also, for the major part of the time, the spectators have been unusually orderly for a Paris crowd.
Massive choke by Big Berd
Handed Raonic the match on a plate.
First time I’ve seen Berdy smash his racquet. He often just shrugs his shoulders when he loses.
Nice choke by Berdy in the last game. Sheeesh.
I hope Nishikori is in better form today than he was yesterday.
Cruel:
RT @Noleksa : “Tomas Berdych in the face of pressure. Clutch time.”
https://twitter.com/Protect_Wldlife/status/525762476668121089/photo/1
Rafa has had his first mention during the Nole/Kei match. Mark Petchey has declared that Nadal lost in inverted commas to Kei in Madrid. You couldn’t make it up.
They will miss him when he’s gone…..
It also irritates me that Kei has beaten Roger and Novak TWICE EACH, yet what invariably gets mentioned by the commentators is that he ALMOST beat Rafa. Victories over Rafa become attached to a player’s name. The win may as well be retroactively added to their birth certificates.
jpacnw ( at 5:13 pm)
My conclusion: Fed and Djoko are NOBODIES! Victories over them are worthless!
I don’t see Nishikori stretching himself in this semi. He will want to be as fresh as possible for his debut at the WTF…….
Kei didn’t play well yesterday either. He didn’t deserve to beat Ferru.
Dull, dull, dull!
I have a feeling WTF 2014 is going to be a yawn-fest…………….
Can someone tell me why all of a sudden Umpires want to insert themselves in matches? That time violation warning for Djokovic was rubbish, absolute nonsense.
^^Just after that, Koenig declared Murphy to be “the best umpire” in the business.
Yes, we all know that tennis is nothing without Rafa. I miss him terribly, but still try to enjoy the tennis.
They said that Nishi was injured in his match with Novak. Something was up, because he is capable of playing much better than that.
Kei played well past midnight in the SF. I bet he didn’t get to bed before 3 am after the pressers, drugs test etc., so even if he wasn’t injured, he was fatigued.
In his presser after the match, Kei said he didn’t get to bed until 4 am and just felt tired. Never a good thing when one has to face Novak.
Well that explains it.. With no extra day of rest that’s asking a lot. He just didn’t have enough left to take on Novak. I would prefer fatigue than being injured again.
It looks like Novak is primed to get this title. I think the problem with some of the players is that they are looking ahead to the WTF. That’s what can happen this time of year.
@nny
“That’s what can happen this time of year.”
Exactly. It’s what happens every year. By the time they get to Paris most of the players are too knackered (either physically or mentally or even both) to play their best tennis. Added to which those who have qualified for London often appear to be merely going through the motions. It doesn’t make for enthralling tennis.
ed,
I certainly agree that it does not make for enthralling tennis. You can see that they are going through the motions because there just isn’t much left in the tank.
But why is it Novak is fresh and perky this time of the year unlike everyone else? Yes, the surface suits him blah, blah blah but it also suits a lot of other players. I don’t get it.
^^^^ Both Djokovic and Federer happen to be blessed with naturally good physiques capable of withstanding the heavy physical demands of tennis better than the majority of players. Amazingly In spite of their high mileages on court, neither of them have ever suffered injuries necessitating surgery or long term rehabilitation.
Roger is famous for never having retired during a match and I believe has only once withdrawn during a tournament with a back problem. Nole of course was infamous for his MTOs and retirements in the early years but post the showdown with Roddick at the USO he cleaned up his act considerably although there have still been a couple of ‘strategic’ retirements since then.
Novak has played the least number of tournaments than any other player in the Top 50.
Roger only one more.
That’s why they are the freshest along with their style of play.
All that travel and time on the road adds up both mentally and physically.
@Hawkeye
––All that travel and time on the road adds up both mentally and physically–
I agree. This is something which is often overlooked.
The wear and tear of the incessant travel takes its toll every bit as much as the relentless demands of competing interspersed with intensive training. On top of this even in their so called free time the top guys are endlessly fulfilling obligations to their sponsors and to promote tennis in general.