The 2015 World Tour Finals will get started on Sunday afternoon with Novak Djokovic in action. London’s top seed is kicking off his bid for a fourth straight title against Kei Nishikori.
Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers when they contest the first round-robin match at the World Tour Finals on Sunday afternoon.
Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 4-2 after prevailing 6-3, 3-6, 6-1 earlier this season on the clay courts of Rome. They have faced each other three times on indoor hard courts, including twice last fall. Djokovic, who lost to Nishikori indoors at the 2011 Basel event, got the job done 6-2, 6-3 in Paris and 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 at the year-end championship. Their most memorable encounter came in the 2014 U.S. Open semifinals, with Nishikori pulling off a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 upset en route to a runner-up finish.
Hoping to wrap up a positively dominant season in appropriate fashion, Djokovic is storming into London on a 22-match winning streak and with an overall record of 78-5 for the season. The Serb won three Grand Slams, six Masters 1000 titles, and a 500-pointer in Beijing. He is coming off a triumph in Paris, where the top seed ousted three fellow World Tour Finals competitors in the process (Tomas Berdych, Stan Wawrinka, and Andy Murray).
Nishikori has no such momentum heading into the last tournament of 2015. Although the Japanese star is an outstanding 53-14 for the year, he is 2-3 in his last five matches dating back to the Tokyo final (lost to Benoit Paire). Nishikori then dropped his second tilt in both Shanghai and Paris. At the latter event, he retired against Richard Gasquet due to a back problem while trailing 7-6(3), 4-1. The world No. 8 insisted it was a precautionary move, but it is always cause for concern when he is dealing with any kind of physical issue.
This is Nishikori’s second straight appearance in London, where he preceded his 2014 semifinal loss to Djokovic with a 2-1 round-robin record. Djokovic, meanwhile, is the three-time defending champion and has won four World Tour Finals overall. The world No. 1 is 14-0 at this tournament since losing to countryman Janko Tipsarevic back in 2011.
Pick: Djokovic in 2 losing 7 games or fewer
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hawkeye has proved that those who claim being fans of the game and not blind Rafans are better at marketing than logic!
Your definitions of marketing and logic are skewed by over bias!
The fact that the Big 4 are Federer and 3 players 5/6 years his juniors says it all. No one of Fed’s era was able to stand up to him, he says so himself:
“It’s true that the generation of Djokovic, Murray and Nadal has made me a better player, in particular Rafa has challenged me on many fronts, because the way he plays he is so unlike anyone else. But I wouldn’t say I needed that generation to keep me going; I am just here because I love playing the game, I love competing in a stadium against great players. I would have been totally cool just playing with the previous generation that I came up with: Hewitt and Roddick and Ferrero and Safin. Or playing with Raonic and all those guys.”
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/tennis/rogerfederer/11216129/Roger-Federer-reveals-the-secrets-behind-his-incredible-success.html
Maybe Fed benefitted from his not so great peers from 2004-2007; however, he still being inside top 3 among younger greats speaks volume of his greatness, weak era or not.
Novak may have benefitted from a main rival being off form this year and no promising soon to be great young up and comers rising to challenge him. However, he being able to stand up against Fedal during their dominance and stayed at no.3 just behind them and no one else speaks volume of his greatness, weak era or not from now on.
As for Rafa, he has it tough as he has to battle, first a Fed in his prime, followed by his peer Novak at his prime. So, imo that explains why his dominance during his prime was relatively short lived (compared to Fed’s and Novak’s) as he didnt/doesnt benefit from any weak opposition. However, should he reach the top again amidst weak opposition ie same scenario as Novak now, then we can also have a case of him benefiting in a weak era!
lucky,
Bravo! Great post! There’s really not much to add. I like the way you have acknowledged certain realities in the great years that Fed had, while acknowledging that it in no way takes away from his greatness! Thank goodness for some common sense and reason!
You have given Fed, Rafa and Novak all due credit for their accomplishments, no matter what the circumstances or the level of competition.
Well said luckystar! I am surprised native is cheering you. Your arguments are actually not supporting native and co’s contention that 2015 is not a weak era. You have also put Djokovic in his place, # 3 behind the titans of the strong era when all 4 were in their prime!!!
so Djokovic was in his prime in 2008-2010? LOL Murray was in his prime in 2008-2010? a bigger LOL.
VR are you at the Fedole match today?
unfortunately, I am at my office !! :/
I’m at my office too 😛
‘2015 is not a weak era’….. nice….someone who lectures others on logical reasoning and conceptual models is calling one year an ‘era’ ….. great