TENNIS | LONDON NITTO ATP • RICKY’S PREVIEWS AND PICKS: ANDERSON VS. NISHIKORI, FEDERER VS. THIEM

Written by: Staff on 12th November 2018

TENNIS | LONDON NITTO ATP • RICKY'S PREVIEWS AND PICKS: ANDERSON VS. NISHIKORI, FEDERER VS. THIEM

epa07159841 Kei Nishikori of Japan in action during his round robin tennis match against Roger Federer of Switzerland at the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 11 November 2018. EPA-EFE/KIERAN GALVIN |

Kei Nishikori of Japan in action during his round robin tennis match against Roger Federer of Switzerland at the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 11 November 2018. EPA-EFE/KIERAN GALVIN

By Ricky Dimon

Roger Federer and Dominic Thiem will have their backs against the wall when they clash at the Nitto ATP Finals on Tuesday. Federer and Thiem each lost their opening matches, while Tuesday’s other singles contest pits Kevin Anderson against fellow Day 1 winner Kei Nishikori.

Ricky previews the Day 3 action and makes his predictions.

(4) Kevin Anderson vs. (7) Kei Nishikori

Anderson and Nishikori will be colliding for the ninth time in their careers and for the fourth time this year. Nishikori is leading the head-to-head series 5-3 following a recent 6-4, 6-4 win at the Paris Masters. Anderson, though, had won their two previous 2018 meetings; 6-1, 3-6, 7-6(4) on the indoor hard courts of New York in February and 6-3, 7-6(3) in the recent Vienna title match.

This week could not have gotten off to a better start for Nishikori, who upset Federer 7-6(4), 6-3 on Sunday. To say that result was a surprise would be an understatement; the Japanese veteran had just lost to Federer in Shanghai and Paris and he had been a modest 4-7 lifetime at the O2, whereas Federer was 11-0 in his last 11 group-stage matches.

Nishikori’s own form, however, was encouraging prior to this week. The wold No. 9 iis 15-5 this fall, a hot streak that was set up by a quarterfinal showing at Wimbledon and a U.S. Open semifinal perfomance.

Anderson’s season has been stellar from stat to finish–the best of his career, in fact. The South African, who is up to sixth in the rankings and seeded No. 4 this week, advanced to his second major final at Wimbledon before falling to Novak Djokovic. Anderson made his year-end championship debut on Sunday, when he beat Thiem 6-3, 7-6(10).

Despite Nishikori’s more marquee win, it was actually Anderson who played much better tennis on Sunday. Nishikori finished with six winners and 22 errors while serving at 53 percent; Anderson was plus-7 in the winners-to-errors department, striking 13 aces and winning 91 percent of his first-serve points.

Pick: Anderson in 3

(2) Roger Federer vs. (6) Dominic Thiem

Roger Federer of Switzerland in action during his round robin tennis match against Kei Nishikori of Japan at the ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 11 November 2018. EPA-EFE/KIERAN GALVIN

Federer and Thiem will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers on Tuesday. It is Thiem who owns a 2-1 lead in this H2H, which has already been contested on all three surfaces–hard, clay, and grass (all in 2016). Federer cruised 6-1, 6-4 in Brisbane, Thiem won 7-6(2), 6-4 on his clay-court stomping grounds at the Rome Masters, and the Austrian earned a more surprising 3-6, 7-6(7), 6-4 victory on the grass of Stuttgart.

Federer had been 11-0 in his last 11 round-robin matches and was also 2-0 against Nishikori this fall, but the 37-year-old succumbed in straight sets. It was unexpected given Federer’s recent success in that matchup plus the level he had showcased in Paris, where he reached the SFs and extended Djokovic to a third-set ‘breaker.

Despite Thiem’s setback against Anderson, the high-quality second set arguably made it one of his best performances in seven lifetime matches at the YES (he compiled a 1-2 round-robin record in each of his first two appearances). The 2018 Roland Garros runner-up is also 13-5 during this fall hard-court swing, an especially impressive mark given that this is generally his worst time of year.

Federer will have to raise his level from what transpired on Sunday and that is something he has been able to do throughout his illustrious career as he sinks his teeth into tournaments.

Pick: Federer in 3