Two-time former champion Novak Djokovic went after the second serve of Kei Nishikori on Monday to win 7-5, 6-4 in the standout first-round match of the Mutua Madrid Open. Djokovic took a big step in the right direction by hitting 26 winners in long baseline rallies to improve to 12-2 lifetime against 2014 finalist Nishikori, who had reached the Madrid quarter-final (or better) in each of the past five years. The 10th seed will next play on Wednesday in an encounter with Sydney International champion Daniil Medvedev of Russia or Great Britain’s Kyle Edmund. In an error strewn first set that saw Djokovic broken to love at 2-2, the Serbian played with great aggression and, after an accumulation of pressure,...
Watch highlights as Novak Djokovic advances past Kei Nishikori and into the second round at the Mutua Madrid Open on Monday. Benoit Paire, Milos Raonic and Feliciano Lopez also advance in Madrid.
Get the popcorn ready! Two-time former champion Novak Djokovic, who is looking to return to top form, is set to face in-form Kei Nishikori in a blockbuster first-round match-up at the Mutua Madrid Open. Djokovic, reunited with his long-time coach Marian Vajda for the clay-court swing, will have to be immediately match-sharp at the Caja Mágica when he meets Nishikori, the recent Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters finalist (l. to Nadal). Djokovic, leads Nishikori 11-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, but their last red dirt meeting went to three sets at the 2016 Internazionali BNL d’Italia, which Djokovic won 2-6, 6-4, 7-6(5) for a place in the final. Nishikori has reached the Madrid quarter-finals (or better) in each of the past...
Some of the ATP World Tour's top stars including Novak Djokovic, Grigor Dimitrov and Dominic Thiem join coaches such as Michael Chang and Dani Vallverdu to explain the most important aspects of playing on clay. Watch live tennis at tennistv.com.
