RICKY DIMON’S TENNIS PICKS, GUESSES AND ASSUMPTIONS AND RESULTS

Written by: Staff on 8th October 2015

RICKY DIMON'S TENNIS PICKS, GUESSES AND ASSUMPTIONS AND RESULTS

epa04968375 Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action against Ze Zhang of China during their match in the China Open tennis tournament at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China, 08 October 2015. EPA/WU HONG |

Djokovic wins again in Beijing, will face Isner in quarterfinals

Novak Djokovic improved to 26-0 lifetime at the China Open by cruising past Chinese wild card Ze Zhang 6-2, 6-1 on Thursday afternoon. The five-time champion did not face a single break point while advancing to the quarterfinals in a mere 45 minutes.

“The conditions are definitely suitable to my game,” Djokovic assessed.

Suitable? More like they are perfect. Only Rafael Nadal’s 31-0 record to begin his French Open career is a better start an any ATP event than Djokovic’s in Beijing. The world No. 1 tied Jimmy Connor’s 26-0 mark at a tournament in Birmingham, Alabama from 1974 to 1980.

“I feel very pleasant playing on the center court,” the top seed added. “I guess as I keep coming back each year with that positive record, obviously gives me more confidence knowing that I played so well in the past on this court. I just keep on going. That’s all. There is no particular reason. There are a few things that play in my favor.”

John Isner of USA in action against Dominic Thiem of Austria during their first round match in the China Open tennis tournament at the National Tennis Center in Beijing, China, 06 October 2015. EPA/HOW HWEE YOUNG

Djokovic may have his hands at least somewhat full when he goes up against John Isner for the 10th time on Friday.

The head-to-head series stands at 7-2 in favor of the Serb, who defeated Isner twice in succession earlier this season; 6-4, 7-6(5) in Indian Wells and 7-6(3), 6-2 in Miami. Isner’s lone victories came three years earlier in Indian Wells (in a third-set tiebreaker) and at the 2013 Cincinnati Masters (7-5 in the third).

An in-form American is coming off a fourth-round performance at the U.S. Open and so far in Beijing he has taken out Dominic Thiem and John Millman. Thursday’s second-rounder actually saw Millman serve for a straight-set win before Isner stormed back.

An intriguing quarterfinal lineup also features Nadal vs. Jack Sock, Fabio Fognini vs. Pablo Cuevas, and David Ferrer vs. Yen-Hsun Lu.

Briefs

* Isner back from the brink against Millman, should reach No. 10 in race to London

* Fognini fends off Goffin, can reach top 25 with one more victory

* Cuevas cuts down Karlovic, can move into top 30 by reaching Beijing semifinals

* Cilic cruises past Johnson in Tokyo, likely to climb at least two spots to 12th

* Kyrgios crushes Bautista Agut to put himself in Australian Open seed position

* Paire beats Baghdatis, will play Kyrgios on Friday with No. 29 on the line

* Krajicek upsets Sousa, set to surge 30 spots into top 100

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

Topics: Atp World Tour, Beijing, China Open, David Ferrer, Fabio Fognini, jack sock, John Isner, Men's tennis, Novak Djokovic, Pablo Cuevas, Rafa Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Tennis News, Yen Hsun Lu, Ze Zhang

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10sBalls_com says:

October 8, 2015 at 1:46 pm

-@Dimonator’s #TENNIS PICKS, GUESSES AND ASSUMPTIONS AND RESULTS- http://t.co/kiibIxxUSp #ChinaOpen #Beijing #ATP