Kei Nishikori will meet Novak Djokovic, bidding to capture a sixth title at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals, on Saturday in the semi-finals. It will be the pair’s sixth meeting in 2016 and their 13th FedEx ATP Head2Head clash overall (Djokovic leads 10-2). Nishikori completed Group John McEnroe with a 1-2 record, having lost to Marin Cilic, who finishes the season at a year-end No. 6 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. The 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory was Cilic’s first win in his sixth match at the season finale (also 2014), at The O2 in London. “I just tried to focus today's match,” said Nishikori. “Unfortunately, it was a tough loss. But hope I can play better tomorrow. I will...
The power of a shot does not always equal power over an opponent, as Andy Murray clearly illustrated in his 6-4, 6-2 victory over Stan Wawrinka at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals on Friday. Murray won 16 more points (67-51) than his Swiss rival, but when you examine the velocity of the groundstrokes, it appears to be in direct conflict with the final score. Murray and Wawrinka were not shy trading forehands and backhands from the back of the court, but the more powerful groundstrokes in this encounter were clearly struck by the player who won’t end up playing this weekend. Wawrinka’s average forehand speed was 77 mph, well ahead of Murray’s 73 mph, with the Swiss hitting 16...
Seventh seeds Raven Klaasen/Rajeev Ram are making the most of their debut at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. The pairing advanced to the semi-finals with a tight 6-3, 7-6(8) win over fourth seeds Feliciano Lopez/Marc Lopez. With the win, Klaasen/Ram clinched second place in Group Fleming/McEnroe. Joining Klaasen/Ram in the final four are fifth seeds Henri Kontinen/John Peers, who finished first in Group Fleming/McEnroe with a 3-0 record. Klaasen/Ram will face second seeds Jamie Murray/Bruno Soares in the semi-finals, who clinched the year-end No. 1 Emirates ATP Doubles Team Ranking on Friday. Kontinen/Peers take on third seeds Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan in the other semi-final. The importance of the occasion produced some understandably tense moments for both Klaasen/Ram and Lopez/Lopez...