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WWW? US Open Semifinal: Djokovic vs. Nishikori

10K views 94 replies 59 participants last post by  Spinn69 
#1 ·
Novak Djokovic and Kei Nishikori are interesting rivals who always try to show not only high-quality, but also beautiful tennis. The public simply adores when these opponents cross racquets to determine who is the best athlete to date.

Who will win?
 
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#3 ·
Novak's level this match..I can't see him dropping a set. If he was serving like shit then Kei would have a chance, this looked like 2015 servak. Kei would have to dramatically raise his game from today's QF match and Novak would need to be troubled somehow. Physically Novak looks fine. Fuck this stupid matchup. Can't Nishikori ever get a fucking Anderson or Isner or some other bullshit?
 
#8 ·
I think Nishikori has a good chance here, depending on weather. Yes Djokovic has been very good, but he's had more lapses than before and looks vulnerable, he has not faced a really tough player in 3 rounds or so, this is gonna be a good watch. Whoever wins, hope Nishikori comes in with his A game.
 
#13 ·
Djokovic in 3 ..:zzz:


After his joke path to 2016 USO Final, these titans stood on his way to the 2018 edition final while seeded 6th.

Fucsovics
Sandgren
Gasquet
Sousa
Millman
Turkeykori

And yet you won't here a peep from the "easy draws" merchants on this forum..
just blame gwandpa swamperer, i suppose.
 
#17 ·
I hate this matchup for Kei. Djokovic just absorbs everything good Kei does and has a better serve and return stat, makes it impossible for Kei to really get a foothold. Even when Kei had superiority off the ground such as in Rome 2016, he lost on the basis on a poorer serve. The only advantage Kei has is that he beat him here in 2014. But that version of Kei was playing some sublime tennis that week to beat Raonic and Wawrinka. This version of Kei barely survived Cilic and looked somewhat at the mercy of his opponent. Overall, he's a much weaker version of old Kei but still with some degree of mental resistance if his opponent starts to waver. He'll need to find controlled aggressive shots, consistent returns and well placed serves if he wants to even make this close. And just a solid head. Good time to bet on Djokovic.
 
#30 ·
It's tough to tell how well Djokovic is playing. He really has not faced a truly top player. Kei will reveal where Djokovic's level currently is. As for the winner, we all know Kei's main weakness. Djokovic will be in many of Kei's service games. There could be many break of serves in this match, but Djokovic will likely hold when he truly needs do. Djokovic in 4 most likely. I hope both play a good match, but I doubt we will get another Thiem-Nadal type match.
 
#90 · (Edited)
Agreed. Nole hasn't really been tested but what Ive seen this is hardly the Nole of old. You can't really gauge where Nole because the truth is, only Nadal has actually played some decent opposition. Nole hasn't really played CRAP for an opponent thus far.


What Ive seen from Nole thus far, I haven't been that impressed at all. Hes a mess at the net and his shots don't have much pace to them. Could very well be a barn burner long match. Wouldn't be surprised if Kei surprises some people here.
 
#41 ·
I didn't watch Djokovic last night but I watched most of Nishikori - Cilic which was quite a slugfest tbh. If Samurai does not up his level this will end in 3 or max 4 sets to Djokovic.

Hey, but let's hope Kei has left his best for the SF and will pull off the upset.
 
#48 ·
Wanted to write again "the draw from heaven continues" ... but something is bothering me with Novak's game

yes, both Kei and Novak have declined compared to 2014, and the weather will not favor Kei as in 2014.... But I'm afraid that the powerless precision shots of Novak during ground rallies (shots that he employs in this tournament ) will not be enough to break Nishikori's defenses.
If I'm correct, this will be a long grueling match and the decisive factors will be who has more energy left and who is mentally on higher level (who will better handle the pressure of close match).

Still think Novak will take this in 4, but it will be a huge fight and few points might decide.

On the other side, if Novak just relaxes his hand and adds more power in his ground shots this can be over fairly quickly.
I'm hoping that Vajda will analyze Kei's game from yesterday and find a solution for his defenses ... and more importantly explicitly forbid Novak to dropshot in the SF ... (his dropshots were terrible vs Millman)
 
#50 ·
Wanted to write again "the draw from heaven continues" ... but something is bothering me with Novak's game

yes, both Kei and Novak have declined compared to 2014, and the weather will not favor Kei as in 2014.... But I'm afraid that the powerless precision shots of Novak during ground rallies (shots that he employs in this tournament ) will not be enough to break Nishikori's defenses.
If I'm correct, this will be a long grueling match and the decisive factors will be who has more energy left and who is mentally on higher level (who will better handle the pressure of close match).

Still think Novak will take this in 4, but it will be a huge fight and few points might decide.

On the other side, if Novak just relaxes his hand and adds more power in his ground shots this can be over fairly quickly.
I'm hoping that Vajda will analyze Kei's game from yesterday and find a solution for his defenses ... and more importantly explicitly forbid Novak to dropshot in the SF ... (his dropshots were terrible vs Millman)
Good luck with! You know he just loves dropshots. Even worse, more he misses them, more likely he will try again, just to prove something to himself, I guess :|
 
#53 ·
I do not expect this time will be easy, an upset is possible than before .
i hope Djoker will get it done in less than 3 hrs ,
but my expectation the match will be long exceeding 4.30 hrs and Djoker will suffer
the key here is solid serve ,maintaing good motion and the most important part the backhand should be on fire .
Cilic played better than Kei but his inner demons, chocking wasted everything.
 
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