RICKY’S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR THE DAY 1 IN LONDON: DJOKOVIC VS. NISHIKORI, FEDERER VS. BERDYCH, FINGERS CROSSED THAT RICKY WILL BE THERE BEFORE THE FIRST BALL IS HIT @ THE ATP TENNIS “SUPER BOWL” @ THE 02 ARENA

Written by: Staff on 14th November 2015

RICKY'S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR THE DAY 1 IN LONDON: DJOKOVIC VS. NISHIKORI, FEDERER VS. BERDYCH, FINGERS CROSSED THAT RICKY WILL BE THERE BEFORE THE FIRST BALL IS HIT @ THE ATP TENNIS "SUPER BOWL" @ THE 02 ARENA |

Photo by Frankie

Ricky’s preview and picks for Day 1 in London: Djokovic vs. Nishikori, Federer vs. Berdych

By Ricky Dimon

Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori will get the singles action started at the World Tour Finals on Sunday afternoon. Nishikori also played the first match last year, upsetting Andy Murray in straight sets. Round-robin competition in Group Stan Smith will also feature a night-session showdown between Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych.

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (8) Kei Nishikori

Djokovic and Nishikori will be squaring off for the seventh time in their careers when they contest the first round-robin match at the O2.

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.

Pick: Djokovic in 2

Photo by Frankie

(3) Roger Federer vs. (6) Tomas Berdych

Federer and Berdych will be doing battle for the 21st time in their careers on Sunday night.

Federer owns a 14-6 lead in the head-to-head series, but it is an even more competitive 7-4 in the Swiss’ favor on either hard courts or carpet. Both of their previous encounters this season were positively dominated by Federer–6-4, 6-0 in the Indian Wells quarterfinals and 6-3, 6-3 on the clay courts of Rome. Berdych last upset the 17-time Grand Slam champion in the 2013 Dubai semis via a 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-4 decision.

Beating the top players has been a struggle for Berdych of late, so it should come as little surprise that each of his two titles in 2015 has come at the 250-point level. But the sixth-ranked Czech should be heading into London with some confidence, because he lifted both trophies in October after going the first nine months of the season without a title. Berdych is a stellar 57-19 for his 2015 campaign and coming off consecutive quarterfinal performances at Masters events in Shanghai and Paris.

Federer is looking to bounce back from a third-round Paris loss to John Isner. The 34-year-old Swiss has cooled off just a bit since a torrid summer, as he also bowed out early from the Shanghai Masters (lost his opening match to Albert Ramos-Vinolas in three sets). But Federer at least managed to triumph in Basel, bringing his collection of 2015 titles to six.

This is the world No. 3’s 14th appearance at the year-end championship and he boasts a career record of 48-11 with six titles. Berdych is 6-10 lifetime in five appearances at this prestigious tournament. Only once has he advanced out of the round-robin stage.

Based on both current form and past history in London, Federer has clear edge in this one.

Pick: Federer in 2

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

Photo by Frankie

Topics: 10sballs.com, Atp Tennis, Kei Nishikori, London, Novak Djokovic, Ricky Dimon, Roger Federer, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych, World Tour Finals

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10sBalls_com says:

November 14, 2015 at 1:10 pm

-@Dimonator’s Preview And Picks For The Day 1 In London: @DjokerNole Vs. @keinishikori, @rogerfederer Vs. #Berdych
https://t.co/HIucXdKklh
Dimonator says:

November 14, 2015 at 1:31 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: -@Dimonator’s Preview And Picks For The Day 1 In London: @DjokerNole Vs. @keinishikori, @rogerfederer Vs. #Berdych
https:…