RICKY’S SEMIFINAL PICKS AT THE WORLD TOUR FINALS: DJOKOVIC VS. NISHIKORI, FEDERER VS. WAWRINKA

Written by: on 14th November 2014
ATP World Tour Finals
RICKY'S SEMIFINAL PICKS AT THE WORLD TOUR FINALS: DJOKOVIC VS. NISHIKORI, FEDERER VS. WAWRINKA

epa04488511 Switzerland's Roger Federer reacts following his victory over Britain's Andy Murray during a round robin match at the ATP World Tour Finals mens tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 13 November 2014 . EPA/ANDY RAIN  |

By Ricky Dimon

 

The relative disaster that was round-robin play at the World Tour Finals has given way to a pair of intriguing semifinal matches; ones that could end a disturbing trend of blowouts and inject life into London’s O2 Arena. Saturday’s proceedings will begin with Novak Djokovic going up against Kei Nishikori before the nightcap features an all-Swiss showdown between Roger Federer and Stan Wawrinka.

 

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (4) Kei Nishikori

 

Nobody could stop Djokovic from reaching one of his two goals at the World Tour Finals: clinch the year-end No. 1 ranking. Now it is Nishikori who stands in the way of Djokovic’s other goal: win a third consecutive title in London.

Japan’s Kei Nishikori returns to Spain’s David Ferrer during their Round Robin match for the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 13 November 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN

The two players will be facing each other for the fifth time in their careers, with the head-to-head series standing at 2-2. Nishikori′s biggest win, of course, came in the semifinals of this summer’s U.S. Open via a 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 upset. It will take a lot more than a semifinal victory in Paris to avenge that loss, but Djokovic picked up such a win nonetheless by ousting Nishikori 6-2, 6-3 two weeks ago.

 

The top seed bulldozed his way though Group A by destroying Marin Cilic, Stan Wawrinka, and Tomas Berdych all in easy straight sets, thus clinching the top ranking by equaling Federer’s number of round-robin wins. Nishikori endured one sub-par performance in Group B, getting overwhelmed by Federer 6-3, 6-2 in his second contest. But he picked up victories over Andy Murray (6-4, 6-4) and David Ferrer (4-6, 6-4, 6-1).

 

“It’s obvious that he’s experiencing the best season of his life,” Djokovic said of his opponent. “He’s top five of the world. He’s playing some great tennis. I expect a tougher match than it was in Paris, that’s for sure. I’m feeling pretty confident playing now, as well as he. So it’s going to be good, high‑class tennis.”

That may be true, but will it be competitive? Nothing this week has suggested we will see such a match until a possible Djokovic-Federer final.

 

(2) Roger Federer vs. (3) Stan Wawrinka

 

Federer and Wawrinka will be squaring off for the 17th time in their careers on Saturday night. Federer is dominating the head-to-head series 14-2, but Wawrinka actually managed to pick up a rare victory over his fellow Swiss earlier this season. The underdog prevailed 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-2 in the Monte-Carlo final, only to see Federer restore order with a 3-6, 7-6(5), 6-4, 6-4 victory in the Wimbledon quarterfinals. Federer has won all 10 of their previous hard-court encounters.

 

Switzerland’s Roger Federer returns to Japan’s Kei Nishikori at the ATP World Tour Finals mens tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 11 November 2014. EPA/ANDY RAIN

It goes without saying that the 33-year-old has been the far superior player this week. Federer easily went 3-0 in Group B at the expense of Nishikori, Murray, and Milos Raonic. Wawrinka got blown out by Djokovic–as did everyone else in Group A–but also scored victories over Berdych (6-1, 6-1) and Cilic (6-3, 4-6, 6-3).

 

“I believe I can beat him,” Wawrinka assured. “That’s not the question. But I’ve been seeing him playing last few months. He’s playing great. He’s playing amazing tennis, especially indoor. He loves the place here. It’s going to be a tough match for me. The beginning of the match will be really important for me.”

 

“I’d love to play against Stan here in the semis,” Federer said, obviously before the matchup was assured. “It would be historic for us to make it for a second consecutive year into the semis. If we play each other, it’s a good thing that one of us is going to go to the finals. It’s an extra match for Stan, in particular. It’s an opportunity for both of us to play a quality match ahead of Davis Cup.”

It could be a quality match if Wawrinka brings his Aussie Open level or at least something close to it. So far this week, though, most of the quality has come from Federer’s side of the court.

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

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