World Tour Finals preview and prediction: Wawrinka vs. Nishikori

Stan Wawrinka and Kei Nishikori will be meeting for just the seventh time in their careers when they kick off Group A round-robin competition at the World Tour Finals on Monday afternoon.

Wawrinka is leading the head-to-head series 4-2, but they have split their last four encounters at two wins apiece–including 1-1 this season. Nishikori prevailed 7-6(6), 6-1 to reach the Toronto title match before Wawrinka scored a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 victory in the U.S. Open semifinals. Their most memorable showdown came at the U.S. Open two years earlier, when Nishikori survived a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(7), 6-7(5), 6-4 quarterfinal thriller.

Following his most recent win over the Japanese world No. 5, Wawrinka upset Novak Djokovic two days later to capture his third career Grand Slam title and first in New York City. Not too surprisingly, it has been downhill since then for the Swiss. He lost the St. Petersburg final to Alexander Zverev before falling in the Shanghai third round, the Basel quarterfinals, and the Paris second round (dropped his opening match to Jan-Lennard Struff in a third-set tiebreaker).

Nishikori finished runner-up to Marin Cilic in Basel, beating Juan Martin Del Potro in the process. He seemed to be on course for a decent performance at the Paris Masters, too, but could not convert any of two match points on his own serve in a 0-6, 6-3, 7-6(3) third-round setback at the hands of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

This marks Nishikori’s third appearance at the World Tour Finals, where he is 3-4 lifetime with one semifinal appearance (lost to Novak Djokovic in three sets in 2014). Wawrinka has advanced to the semis in all three of his previous London showings but has never made it to the title match. Based on current form, it will be an uphill battle for the world No. 3 to even survive round-robin play.

Pick: Nishikori in 3

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