Two-time champion Novak Djokovic won an attritional baseline battle against Feliciano Lopez under a closed roof at the Mutua Madrid Open on Thursday. The second seed worked hard to record a 6-4, 7-5 win against Lopez, who was playing with great confidence on serve, in one hour and 33 minutes.
Djokovic will take an 11-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head series lead into Friday’s quarter-final against sixth seed Kei Nishikori, including victories in their past 10 matches.
"The level was definitely very high today I thought from both of us," admitted Djokovic. "I think Feliciano played really well, especially in the second set. I wasn't winning too many points on his service games until the last one, when I managed to return a lot of balls back in play and then win the match.
"One break was enough, 5-4, 6-5, both sets. Of course, at the end, 5-5, 0/30, we had a couple of really long points. I was in trouble, and I managed to get my way out of it with some great gets. That pumped me up obviously."
Lopez saved one break point at 2-3, 30/40, but held his own in long rallies against Djokovic. At 4-5, with Lopez serving at Deuce, Djokovic hesitated on a deep Lopez backhand shot that landed on the baseline in a 24-stroke rally. Lopez, thinking Djokovic had stopped the point before striking a forehand response, paused too and didn't run to retrieve the ball. Djokovic had not challenged, so the chair umpire awarded the point to the Serbian giving him set point. The confusion proved to be pivotal, as one point later Djokovic clinched the 40-minute set with the only service break.
Lopez regrouped, showcasing great fluency in his service motion to keep Djokovic from controlling the baseline. Although he was unable to convert a break point in Djokovic’s first service game of the second set, his slice backhand stood up to Djokovic’s barrage. At 5-5, Djokovic recovered from 0/30 to 40/30, just as Lopez looked in the ascendency. He then raised his level to put pressure on his Spanish opponent in the next game. Djokovic broke to 15, celebrating his 16th match win of the year when Lopez struck a forehand into the net. Lopez was competing at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament for the 16th straight year.
“I think today I played really good tennis in general,” said Lopez. “I think tactically I played smart. I did what I had to do. I was very brave. Perhaps I missed a few big shots in a few important moments something, especially at the end of the first set. Then he had break point [and] I lost the first set. In the second set, more or less the same thing happened. He got things right, and I missed a couple of shots. Details decided today's match.”
Djokovic announced last week that he had parted company with long-time coach Marian Vajda, fitness trainer Gebhard Phil Gritsch and physio Miljan Amanovic.
Nishikori denied fellow baseliner David Ferrer the 700th match win of the Spaniard’s career on Thursday when he booked his spot in the last eight. Nishikori, the 2014 finalist, outfought Ferrer for the third time at the Caja Magica (also 2014 and 2015) in a 6-4, 6-3 victory.
The pair’s 13th FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting was suspended due to rain when Nishikori led 6-4, 0-1, which forced the roof to be closed over Court Arantxa Sanchez Vicario. Ferrer, 35, is one victory away from becoming the 13th player in ATP World Tour history to reach the 700 match wins milestone.
