RICKY DIMON’S PREVIEW AND PICK FOR THE SECOND SEMIFINAL AT THE BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS: DJOKOVIC VS. NISHIKORI

Written by: Staff on 18th November 2016

RICKY DIMON'S PREVIEW AND PICK FOR THE SECOND SEMIFINAL AT THE BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS: DJOKOVIC VS. NISHIKORI

epa05637400 Kei Nishikori of Japan in action against Marin Cilic of Croatia during their Men's singles match at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 18 November 2016. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA |

Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori will be meeting for a third straight season at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals when they collide again on Saturday evening.

Djokovic is out in front of the overall head-to-head series 10-2 and has won each of their two previous contests at the year-end championship. He won 6-1, 3-6, 6-0 in the 2014 semifinals before coasting 6-1, 6-1 during round-robin action in 2015. The current world No. 2 has taken nine consecutive matches against Nishikori since being upset 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 in the 2014 U.S. Open semis.

Setbacks were few and far between for Djokovic from the fall of 2014 through this spring. But after lifting the French Open winner’s trophy for the first time in his career, the 12-time major champion suffered a string of surprising losses–most memorably to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon and to Juan Martin Del Potro at the Rio Olympics. A return to the O2 Arena, however, appears just what the doctor ordered for Djokovic. The Serb went 3-0 in Group B competition with defeats of Dominic Thiem, Milos Raonic, and David Goffin, dropping only his first set to Thiem.

“Everything has been going in a positive direction,” Djokovic noted. “I’ve been playing better and better as I [have progressed] in the tournament.”

The four-time defending World Tour Finals champion is now an unbelievable 22-1 in his last 23 matches at this prestigious event, with his only loss during this stretch having come at the hands of Roger Federer in a 2015 round-robin encounter after Djokovic had already booked his place in the semis.

Novak Djokovic of Serbia returns the ball to David Goffin of Belgium during their men’s singles match at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 17 November 2016. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

For Nishikori, though, his work has only become more difficult with each match this week. The Japanese star rolled over Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, succumbed to Murray 6-7(9), 6-4, 6-4 after three hours and 20 minutes, and then lost to Marin Cilic 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 on Friday.

A three-set, one-hour and 53-minute affair was not what Nishikori needed in his round-robin finale on Friday night–and so soon after his huge struggle against Murray. Now he has to go up against an adversary who has been almost untouchable at this tournament over the past five years.

Pick: Djokovic in 2