World Tour Finals Preview Day 5: Djokovic eyes semis berth
With Roger Federer having secured his semi-final qualification from the Stan Smith Group, it is now time to see who can grab the other berth from this group. World No. 1 Novak Djokovic, who stuttered against Federer in his last match, surely looks as the overwhelming favourite but Kei Nishikori and Tomas Berdych too, still have a chance.
We preview the two matches:
(3) Roger Federer v (8) Kei Nishikori
Head-to-head: Federer leads 3-2
After dropping his serve against Tomas Berdych in the opening round robin match, third seed Roger Federer has looked quite impressive. The six-time World Tour Finals champion’s brilliant dismantling of the top-seeded Djokovic thoroughly underlined his desire to look for a record seventh title at this prestigious championships.
The Swiss served superbly, something that had let him down in their two biggest clashes this year at the Wimbledon and the US Open finals. The movement and the gameplan were perfect which enabled him to snap the Serb’s staggering 23-match winning streak. It also happened to be Djokovic’s first loss indoors after winning 38 consecutive matches.
After the match, the numero uno player admitted Federer troubled him a lot by mixing it up. “Credit to Roger for mixing up the pace, giving me always a different ball. He used the slice and spin very wisely. He served very efficiently,” said the 10-time major champion.
With two such confidence-boosting wins, the former World No. 1 will look to finish the group matches undefeated. And he very well can.
The maestro faces Kei Nishikori, whom he met last at this very venue, dispatching him 6-3, 6-2. The No. 8 seed’s fitness was doubtful coming into this tournament after he retired in Paris due to abdominal pain. His first match at the World Tour Finals this year was a forgettable affair for him as he got thumped 1-6, 1-6 by Djokovic.
But after that, the Japanese did show flashes of his admirable fighting skills by outlasting Berdych in three sets. His opportunity for a second straight semi-final qualification is not yet over but for that, he has to beat Federer and at the same time, Berdych has to assist by toppling Djokovic.
The present circumstances do not suggest it to be a likely scenario.
Prediction: Federer in straight sets
(1) Novak Djokovic v (6) Tomas Berdych
Head-to-head: Djokovic leads 20-2
Given Novak Djokovic was riding high on a 22-match winning streak coming into this tournament, it was hard to believe that he would not remain undefeated. But Federer did snap his incredible streak and condemned him to his first loss indoors since 2012, snapping a 38-match winning streak indoors.
The Serb was a pale shadow of himself in the second set. Burdened under a pile of unforced errors, the defending champion slumped to his first defeat at this tournament since 2011.
In retrospect, Djokovic had been playing at a high level for a long time and kept together all parts of his game admirably well, even after the US Open. The mounting pressure coupled with fatigue culminated in that loss.
The World No. 1 would certainly want to push those memories behind and bounce back for a semi-final berth. And from his perspective, he has a relatively easier opponent – Tomas Berdych – whom he has beaten thrice this year.
The Czech began this tournament not the way he would have liked and has gone 0-2 with defeats against Federer and Nishikori. Against the Japanese, he did a decent job of winning the second set but faded away in the third.
He is still in contention for the last remaining berth from this group but needs to ensure that he beats Djokovic and Nishikori beats Federer as well. And that is quite an uphill task for him, given his record against the Serb.
He has met Djokovic four times at this tournament and managed to take a total of just one set. If one has a look at his scorelines against the Serb this season (0-6, 7-5, 4-6 loss at Dubai, 5-7, 6-4, 3-6 loss at Monte Carlo, 6-7, 6-7 loss at Paris, one will notice that Berdych has fought hard with the 10-time major champion, but failed to deliver the killer blow when it mattered the most.
And that will probably remain Berdych’s Achilles heel even in today’s match.
Prediction: Djokovic in straight sets