RICKY’S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR MONDAY IN LONDON TENNIS – WAWRINKA VS. NISHIKORI AND MURRAY VS. CILIC

Written by: Staff on 13th November 2016

RICKY'S PREVIEW AND PICKS FOR MONDAY IN LONDON TENNIS - WAWRINKA VS. NISHIKORI AND MURRAY VS. CILIC |

By Ricky Dimon

The second day of action at the 2016 Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will feature Stan Wawrinka, Kei Nishikori, Andy Murray, and Marin Cilic. Murray is the new world No. 1, but he has plenty of work to do in London if he wants to end the year in that spot. Wawrinka, meanwhile, has cooled off since winning the U.S. Open.

Ricky previews the two matches and makes his predictions.

(3) Stan Wawrinka vs. (5) Kei Nishikori

Wawrinka and Nishikori will be facing each other for the seventh time in their careers on Monday afternoon. The head-to-head series stands at 4-2 in favor of Wawrinka, but they have split their last four meetings at two victories apiece–including 1-1 this year. Nishikori got the job done 7-6(6), 6-1 to reach the Toronto final before Wawrinka prevailed 4-6, 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 in the U.S. Open semis. Their most memorable contest came at the U.S. Open two seasons earlier, when Nishikori survived a 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(7), 6-7(5), 6-4 quarterfinal thriller.

Following his most recent victory over the Japanese star, Wawrinka stunned Novak Djokovic two days later to capture his third career Grand Slam title and first in Flushing Meadows. Not too surprisingly, it has been downhill since then for the third-ranked Swiss. He fell the St. Petersburg final to Alexander Zverev before exiting in the Shanghai third round, the Basel quarters, and the Paris second round (lost his opening match to Jan-Lennard Struff in a final-set tiebreaker).

Nishikori placed runner-up to Marin Cilic in Basel, beating Juan Martin Del Potro in the process. The world No. 5 seemed to be on course for a decent showing 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 loss to 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 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 final.

Pick: Nishikori in 3

(1) Andy Murray vs. (7) Marin Cilic

Murray and Cilic will be meeting for the 15th time in their careers on Monday night. The head-to-head series is being dominated by Murray 11-3, but it is a much more competitive 6-3 on hard courts. They have faced each other four times in London (and it would be five if not for a Cilic WD at Queen’s Club in 2011), albeit never at the year-end championship. Murray prevailed in a five-set Davis Cup rubber at the All-England Club in 2007, in the Wimbledon last 16 five years later, and at Queen’s Club in 2013 and 2016. Their most recent showdown, however, went Cilic’s way via a 6-4, 7-5 decision in the title match of this summer’s Cincinnati Masters.

That was a rare occasion on which Murray failed to win a title. The top-ranked Scot has ascended to the No. 1 ranking not only thanks to Djokovic’s slump, but also because he has won seven of his last nine events and has failed to reach a final (lost to Nishikori in the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open) only once since succumbing to Rafael Nadal in the Monte-Carlo semifinals way back in April. Murray clinched the top spot last week in Paris, where benefited from a walkover courtesy of Milos Raonic in the semis before holding off John Isner 6-3, 6-7(4), 6-4.

Cilic also had plenty on the line at the BNP Paribas Masters, as his place in London had not yet been clinched. The world No. 7 picked up a crucial third-round win over fellow WTF contender David Goffin and upset Djokovic 6-4, 7-6(2) before bowing out to Isner 6-4, 6-3 in the semifinals. Cilic is 47-21 for the year and owns a recent title in Basel to go along with his Cincinnati triumph.

This is a dangerous matchup for Murray, who is just 11-11 lifetime at the year-end championship–including only 8-10 at the 02 Arena. He is, however, an amazing 73-9 in 2016 and has apparently forgotten how to lose tennis matches.

Pick: Murray in 3