RICKY DIMON’S PICKS FOR DAY 2 @ BARCLAYS WORLD TOUR FINALS: WAWRINKA VS. BERDYCH, DJOKOVIC VS. CILIC

Written by: Staff on 9th November 2014

BNP Paribas 2014 Masters Tennis Tournament

Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic returns the ball to Milos Raonic of Canada during his semifinal match at the BNP Paribas 2014 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 01 November 2014. EPA/IAN LANGSDON

epa04472173 Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic returns the ball to Milos Raonic of Canada during his semifinal match at the BNP Paribas 2014 Masters tennis tournament in Paris, France, 01 November 2014. EPA/IAN LANGSDON |

Editors Note : 10sballs.com is in London in full force. Global Chick is actually pumping out stories. Lovey was last seen @ the candy dept @ Harrods. Ricky Dimon did amazeballs considering he had no sleep on his flight across the pond. & Dear Pancho is the ringleader keeping the group focused. Anyone who knows Lovey or Global Chick understands that. We had a great time catching up with Greg Rusedski and Robbie Koenig. We also caught up with David Egdes. Thank you tennis channel. Showcasing the entire event. Repeating the awesome doubles action. Enjoy this exciting event. Tickets still available for some sessions.

Group B play at the World Tour Finals will begin on Monday after Group A action got started with wins by Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori. Stan Wawrinka and Tomas Berdych will kick off the Day 2 proceedings in the afternoon, to be followed by Novak Djokovic vs. Marin Cilic. Of the four, only Cilic has never previously made a London appearance.

(3) Stan Wawrinka vs. (6) Tomas Berdych

Wawrinka and Berdych will be facing each other for the 15th time in their careers. The head-to-head series stands at 9-5 in Wawrinka’s favor after he won their only previous 2014 encounter 6-3, 6-7(1), 7-6(3), 7-6(4) in the semifinals of the Australian Open.

The fourth-ranked Swiss maintained relative consistency thereafter, but he has been a consistent disaster this fall. In fact, Wawrinka has won just a single tournament match since the U.S. Open, with an overall fall record of 2-4. Berdych is 54-20 for the year, which includes two titles–both on indoor hard courts–in Rotterdam and Stockholm. The seventh-ranked Czech’s recent victory in Stockholm was preceded by a quarterfinal performance in Shanghai and followed by a semifinal run in Paris.

Wawrinka and Berdych have squared off once before at the World Tour Finals, with Wawrinka surviving 6-3, 6-7(0), 6-3 during round-robin action. This is only the No. 3 seed’s second qualification for London, having punched a semifinal ticket last season.

Berdych is making his fifth appearance and owns a 5-8 lifetime record. The No. 6 seed is more experienced at this event and has been far superior than his opponent this fall, so he will likely have an edge.

(1) Novak Djokovic vs. (8) Marin Cilic

Marin Cilic of Croatia in action against Roberto Bautista-Agut of Spain during their final match at the Kremlin Cup tennis tournament in Moscow, Russia, 19 October 2014. EPA/MAXIM SHIPENKOV

This will be the 11th career meeting (fourth in 2014) between Djokovic and Cilic. Djokovic is sweeping the head-to-head series 10-0, including 8-0 on hard courts. This season has already seen the world No. 1 prevail 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 in Indian Wells, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7(2), 6-4 at the French Open, and 6-1, 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-2 in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Cilic is making his first-ever appearance at the year-end championship and it has come almost an entirely as a result of a stunning run to his first Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows. That being said, the ninth-ranked Croat has been a consistent force on tour from start to finish. His 2014 record stands at 54-18 and it also includes winner’s trophies from Zagreb, Delray Beach, and his most recent event in Moscow.

Cilic withdrew from the Paris Masters citing an arm injury, but in all likelihood he just wanted some extra rest for his first foray to London.

Even without any physical problems, he would be a heavy underdog for reasons beyond simply his past futility against Djokovic. The Serb is surging into the World Tour Finals on the strength of the Paris title, which was his first tournament as a father. He also triumphed in Beijing earlier this fall. As for Djokovic’s World Tour Finals exploits, he has made seven appearances while collecting an overall record of 19-9 and three titles.

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

Topics: ATP World Tour Finals, Barclays, Marin Cilic, Novak Djokovic, Ricky Dimon, Stan Wawrinka, tennis update, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

November 9, 2014 at 10:00 pm

@RD_Tennistalk’s PICKS FOR DAY 2 @ #BarclaysATPWorldTour FINALS: @stanwawrinka VS @tomasberdych, @DjokerNole VS CILIC http://t.co/faVWda5srp
RD_Tennistalk says:

November 10, 2014 at 3:18 am

RT @10sBalls_com: @RD_Tennistalk’s PICKS FOR DAY 2 @ #BarclaysATPWorldTour FINALS: @stanwawrinka VS @tomasberdych, @DjokerNole VS CILIC htt…