World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is bidding his eighth Grand Slam title at the US Open this year before which he has to battle it out against Japan’s Kei Nishikori in Saturday’s semifinal scheduled on Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Novak Djokovic has entered the US Open in a really solid form where he has had convincing wins en route to the semifinals. Prior to the US Open the Serb failed to deliver good tennis at the North-American hard court tournaments held at Toronto and Cincinnati. Djokovic crashed out of the quarterfinals at Toronto and suffered a fourth round defeat at the hands of Tommy Robredo at the Cincinnati Masters. Djokovic is looking forward to bag his eighth Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows this year and his second of the season after he defeated Roger Federer in five thrilling sets at the All England Club.
Djokovic kicked off his hard court season with a below average displays but the 2011 victor looks in prime form to win the title where he has dropped only a single set against Andy Murray in the quarterfinals. The 27-year old recorded easy 6-1 6-2 6-4, 6-1 6-3 6-0, 6-3 6-2 6-2 wins against Schwartzman in the 1st round, Mathieu in round two and Querrey in the 3rd round respectively. In the fourth round the Serb was pushed a bit where he was to battle against German player Kohlschreiber but he was ultimately triumphant 6-1 7-5 6-4 to set up a quarterfinal clash against 2012 champion Murray. In the quarterfinal Djokovic needed two hours and 13 minutes before he cruised to his 8th consecutive US Open semifinal. The Serb sealed a 7-6(1), 6-7(1), 6-2, 6-4 win where he looked dominant from the very beginning and faced only a little resistance from the Brit in the first two sets.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori withdrew from the Toronto Masters due to a toe injury but he has made a pretty spectacular entry into the US Open. He has won against Odesnik in the first round whereas in the second round his opponent Andujar retired to give him a spot in the third round against Mayer where he emerged victorious. In the following fourth round and quarterfinal match Nishikori was put to a real test where Milos Raonic and Stan Wawrinka forced him to play five sets that lasted for about four hours. Playing against Raonic and Wawrinka and brushing aside the firm resistance the Canadian young gun and the Swiss offered Nishikori has been quite commendable.
Head-to-head: The head-to-head for both the players is tied at 1-1 after Nishikori retired from their probable third meeting at the Miami Open semifinals this year. In their last meeting that was held in 2011 at the Swiss Indoors, Basel Nishikori was declared the winner where he clinched a 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-0 against the Serb. Back in 2010, Djokovic defeated Nishikori at the French Open in the third round 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
Key factors: This semifinal clash is most probably going to be a three to four set match where if the Japanese focuses on his return and attacks Djokovic’s second serve can cause an upset. Djokovic’s serve is not going to be a real problem for Nishikori as he has survived the aces fired at him by Raonic and Wawrinka on his way to the semifinals. Nishikori comes into the semis having played long, four set matches so stamina could be a minor factor that could hinder his spot in the US Open final but then his scintillating 8-0 record on five sets does not go unnoticed. Djokovic just needs his supreme double-handed backhand to land at the right times and his baseline skills to click whenever he wants them to. If Djokovic returns well on Nishikori’s serve he can easily exploit it and use it to his own advantage coupled with his baseline shot brilliance.
Match prediction: Djokovic to win it in four; experience and form to give the Serb an upper hand over the Japanese.