Novak Djokovic takes on Tomas Berdych; Marin Cilic faces Stan Wawrinka on Day 6
Last day of Group A matches:
The action shifts to Group A on Day 6 on Friday with Novak Djokovic taking on Tomas Berdych and Marin Cilic facing off against Stan Wawrinka in the second match of the day. Unless the World No.1 is beaten comprehensively by the Czech Republic player can he be eliminated from the competition. Berdych has had a up-and-down tournament, thus far losing 6-1, 6-3 to Stan Wawrinka and then winning by the same margin against Marin Cilic. All four players in this group can still theoretically qualify for the semi-final stage.
Here are the semifinal qualification scenarios for Group A:
1) Regardless of score, if N. DJOKOVIC defeats T. BERDYCH and S. WAWRINKA defeats M. CILIC, then N. DJOKOVIC wins the group and S. WAWRINKA qualifies 2nd.
2) Regardless of score, if T. BERDYCH defeats N. DJOKOVIC and M. CILIC defeats S. WAWRINKA, then T. BERDYCH wins the group and N. DJOKOVIC qualifies 2nd.
3) If N. DJOKOVIC defeats T. BERDYCH in 2 sets and M. CILIC defeats S. WAWRINKA in 2 sets, then N. DJOKOVIC wins the group and order of remaining players is determined by % of games won.
4) If N. DJOKOVIC defeats T. BERDYCH in 2 sets and M. CILIC defeats S. WAWRINKA in 3 sets, then N. DJOKOVIC wins the group and S. WAWRINKA qualifies 2nd.
5) If N. DJOKOVIC defeats T. BERDYCH in 3 sets and M. CILIC defeats S. WAWRINKA in 2 sets, then N. DJOKOVIC wins the group and T. BERDYCH qualifies 2nd.
6) If N. DJOKOVIC defeats T. BERDYCH in 3 sets and M. CILIC defeats S. WAWRINKA in 3 sets, then N. DJOKOVIC wins the group and S. WAWRINKA qualifies 2nd.
7) If T. BERDYCH defeats N. DJOKOVIC in 2 sets and S. WAWRINKA defeats M. CILIC in 2 sets, then M. CILIC is eliminated and order of remaining players is determined by % of games won.
8) If T. BERDYCH defeats N. DJOKOVIC in 2 sets and S. WAWRINKA defeats M. CILIC in 3 sets, then T. BERDYCH wins the group and N. DJOKOVIC qualifies 2nd.
9) If T. BERDYCH defeats N. DJOKOVIC in 3 sets and S. WAWRINKA defeats M. CILIC in 2 sets, then N. DJOKOVIC wins the group and S. WAWRINKA qualifies 2nd.
10) If T. BERDYCH defeats N. DJOKOVIC in 3 sets and S. WAWRINKA defeats M. CILIC in 3 sets, then N. DJOKOVIC wins the group and S. WAWRINKA qualifies 2nd.
Djokovic confident of his chances
Talking about his win over Wawrinka, Djokovic said he didn't expect to win by such a comfortable margin.
“I definitely didn’t expect it, but hoped that I can play this way again and the match result can go this way for me.Obviously Stan wasn’t feeling his best today, made a lot of unforced errors and had a low percentage of first serves in. On my side, I just played very solid from all over the court. I think I covered the court very well, got a lot of balls back, mixed up the pace, got him off the comfort zone. That’s something that was part of my game plan.” Djokovic said.
Berdych said that the win over Cilic was a much-needed one, but it wasn’t the best tennis that he had played.
“I felt much better on the court. But still it was not one of my best. That’s fair to say. But I think that’s the beauty of this event. One day you can be swept out from the court like I did and in two days’ time you can come up and you can play a different tennis ”. The 29-year-old said.
An even contest on the cards
In match No.2 of the day, Marin Cilic will take on Stan Wawrinka in the evening session. Both players are coming off straight sets losses in their previous encounters and will be looking to get back to winning ways. Wawrinka won their last meeting 3-6 6-0 6-1 at Cincinnati Masters earlier this year.
When asked his loss to Djokovic, the Swiss said he was outclassed by the Serb on the day.
“It was not my best match, that’s for sure.He’s playing really well. He’s (has) confidence. He’s not missing much. Today I think it was more about what I was doing. He put me in a position that I think a little bit too much. I was not really clear what I’m going to do, because he’s doing everything well and he’s returning well.” Wawrinka said.
2014 US Open, who has had a rough debut at the event, said that nothing that he is doing is going right and one needs to be on top-of-his game while playing the top-ranked players.
“It seems that the things that I’m doing that are all basically going in a wrong direction.Especially with these guys at this kind of level, even small mistakes, or if you’re not at your best performances, the outcome is not going to be going in your favor. It’s unfortunate. I was looking forward to play here, to do well, to play good matches on a high level. It’s tough to handle ”. The Croation said. ?