Kei Nishikori v Novak Djokovic Preview – September 7th, 2018
Novak Djokovic is through to the semi-finals of the 2018 US Open and he has so far lived up to his billing as the tournament favourite. Djokovic will be happy with this progress through the latter rounds of the tournament as well as he has started to power his way to quick wins. Up next for him is Kei Nishikori who seems to thrive on the action at Flushing Meadows. Can he cause an upset of the tallest order?
Kei Nishikori v Novak Djokovic Odds*
Novak Djokovic 1/6
Kei Nishikori 4/1
* (betting odds taken on September 7th, 2018 at 5:30 am)
Novak Djokovic dropped a set in each of his opening two matches of this year’s US Open but has since settled down and importantly won matches quickly. He has not dropped a set in any of his last three matches after easing past John Millman in the quarter finals. The Australian had previously caused the biggest shockwave of the tournament in having beaten Roger Federer in the fourth round at Flushing Meadows.
So these quick games means avoiding the intense heat which is tough on top of the lack of circulation on the Arthur Ashe Stadium that everyone is complaining about. Nishikori will be the second seed at the tournament that Djokovic has faced this year, after beating 26th seed Richard Gasquet in the third round. A Djokovic 3-0 option in set betting is at 10/11 odds* (betting odds taken on September 7th, 2018 at 5:30 am).
Nishikori shines again at Flushing Meadows
Nishikori has had a tricky route to this stage. It started easily enough with a straight sets win in the opening round and his second round opponent Gael Monfils retired in the second set of their match. So that kept Nishikori fresh. He took four sets to get past 13th seed Diego Schwartzman in the third round and then earned a straight sets win over Philipp Kohlschreiber. But then came his toughest match against former US Open champion Marin Cilic in the quarter finals.
That was a long duel that Nishikori had to go through as it went the distance to five sets, Nishikori getting the deciding set 6-4. The 28-year-old seems to enjoy his tennis at Flushing meadows though because this is his third semi-final appearance in a row at the event. He was a 2014 finalist as well in New York where he was denied his shot at Grand Slam glory by Marin Cilic.
Djokovic bosses head to head
Djokovic and Nishikori have a long history between them. Nishikori won two of the opening three meetings between the two plates but then it has been all Novak Djokovic since in the head to head. The overall head to head stands at 14-2 in favour of the Serbian. They did meet at Wimbledon this year in the quarter finals which Djokovic won on the way to lifting the title there. Their only previous meeting at the US Open was in 2014, the year that Nishikori finished runner-up.
Prediction
Nishikori had to dig deep in his duel with Cilic in the quarter finals, but will probably find Djokovic a bridge too far. Djokovic has been making, quick and easy work of his opponents in the later rounds of the tournament so far, but this will be his first real big test.
We can see a set going against him as his opponent seems to step it up at Flushing Meadows. So Novak Djokovic 3-1 in set betting takes our fancy at 13/5 odds* (betting odds taken on September 7th, 2018 at 5:30 am). Just as it was at Wimbledon between them earlier this year.
