Kei Nishikori reaches his 2nd back to back final in Rome. The Japanese no.1 was defeated in Madrid one week ago by Novak Djokovic, and he has now the opportunity to avenge that match in the Rome semifinal.
To get to the final four, Kei had to edge rising star Dominic Thiem in straight sets. The crucial moment of the quarter against the Austrian was when Nishikori managed to conquer five consecutive games when he was trailing 1-3 in the first set to win the opener 6-3. The second set was extremely close, and Kei found the decisive break in the 11th game to win the match 6-3 7.5.
Nishikori. Thiem is a tough opponent…
Kei commented “He is a tough opponent. He hits very heavy on both wings. Great backhands. Not many weaknesses.
It was really a battle of groundstrokes from the baseline. At the moment, I’m playing really well. I returned well. I tried to stay because he has a great kick serve.”
… I have a problem with my leg
The bad news is that Kei has a problem with his leg “[it] is a bit sore but I’ll be okay. I will try to recover well tonight.”
The semi vs. Djokovic
Nishikori will play the semifinal against Novak Djokovic that has defeated Nadal 7-5 7-6(4) in the quarters. The head to head is 8-2 for Djokovic.
| THE DRAW |
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| ANOTHER SEMIFINAL |
