He was going for his shots and being much better in the rallies.
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Novak Djokovic continued his dominance of Kei Nishikori with a 6-3, 7-5 victory in the final of the Rogers Cup in Toronto.
Djokovic smelled blood at the first sight of a breakthrough in game six, having hassled Nishikori into netting and sending a crosscourt backhand long. “But I know what to do tactically”.
“And after that, I tried to be more aggressive and really concentrate because he was a little bit down and I knew if I had to let him, he’s going to come back”.
The odds are stacked against Nishikori for Sunday afternoon’s match. Djokovic’s four Rogers Cup titles is still short of Ivan Lendl’s record of six, but he now has a record 30 ATP Masters 1000 titles. He has lost his last eight matches with Djokovic, the last loss in the Key Biscayne final in April, and is 2-9 overall. “I hope I can get a Masters title soon”.
Djokovic was bolstered by a strong service performance as he won 82% of his first-serve points and hit five aces.
However, the Japanese’s radar was off crucially in game 11, Djokovic once again doggedly keeping the contest alive to prompt a wide Nishikori backhand.
“To get to No. 1 was one thing”, said Djokovic, after noting that he’s focused on improving his second serve, his net play and mental game in recent years to help him stay on top. “But you learn even when you are exhausted like this”. Big match like this, you learn. “And that’s a great lesson for me for the next time I will play against (Djokovic) again”.
The capacity crowd at York University’s Aviva Centre was clearly partial to Djokovic, with almost a dozen Serbian flags in the stands and fans chanting “NO-LE” – Djokovic’s nickname – before the start of every game. Monfils had his own supporters, with sporadic calls of “Allez-y Monfils!” between serves, but nowhere near the loud cheers Djokovic earned.
“Oh, it means the world, of course”, said Djokovic of the fan support. “It wasn’t easy for the tournament not to have some of the top players who pulled out from the event but it was still a very successful tournament”, he told Sky Sports. I had a lot of opportunity to take the set.
The world number one has beaten Kei Nishikori 6-3, 7-5 in the final of the Toronto Masters, a month after his early Wimbledon exit. Three unforced errors were Wawrinka’s undoing in the first set, with a double fault robbing him of the advantage on serve, then a forehand way wide of the court – nearly into the stands – giving Nishikori the tiebreak set point.
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The second seed was all about the Asian ace as Wawrinka’s game evaporated.
