Japan’s third-seeded Kei Nishikori came from 2-5 down in the opening set to stun Swiss second seed Stan Wawrinka 7-6 (6) 6-1 in the semi-finals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto on Saturday.
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The persistent Nishikori held his serve as Wawrinka missed on a pair of set points in the decider, with the Japanese earning the set on his first opportunity from a Wawrinka forehand wide.
The victory was also Djokovic’s 30th Masters 1000 title of his career, extending his record over Rafael Nadal’s 28 career titles and Roger Federer’s 24. The tournament’s top seed made 76% of his first serves and won 82% of his first-service points and 72% of his service points overall, compared to just 50% for Nishikori. He would race ahead to a 6-4 lead, two more set points, only to lose both, giving the second away with a double fault.
Things remained tense in the second set after the two stars were deadlocked 5-5, with Nishikori on the serve.
But Djokovic showed his class with the set on the line, forcing deuce at 5-5 to break Nishikori for a third time.
Novak Djokovic’s hopes of winnning his first Olympic Gold Medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics could be in limbo despite the Serb regaining some of his composure after winning the Rogers Cup earlier this week.
Djokovic was the big favourite Friday evening against the fifth-seeded Czech, having won 24 of their previous 26 matches, but he squandered a 5-2 first-set lead and almost lost the tie-breaker when he went down 3-6, reports Efe.
Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, poses alongside Mounties after his win over Kei Nishikori, of Japan, in the men’s final of the Rogers Cup tennis tournament, Sunday, July 31, 2016, in Toronto.
Djokovic, a 12-time grand slam champion, will now turn his focus to the Rio Olympics, a tournament he has yet to conquer.
He broke in the sixth game, and nearly broke again in the eighth, but Nishikori aced to hold for 3-5.
The victory for Djokovic marks the 18th straight Masters 1000 event title captured by one of the Big 4 players. The Cincinnati Masters – the only competition at this level to elude Djokovic – will loom into view after the Olympic Games.
TORONTO-Trailing by a game in the second set of his Rogers Cup semifinal, Gael Monfils walked to his courtside chair and unsheathed a shiny new black Wilson racquet from its plastic wrapping.
He put extra loft on a forehead to create an unforced error from Nishikori on game point, before triumphantly pointing at his head to illustrate his savvy. I shouldn’t let it go. “I had to stay committed from the beginning and I’m very, very pleased with the way I played”.
Meanwhile, Simona Halep beat a mistake-prone Madison Keys 7-6 (7/2), 6-3 on Sunday to win the WTA Montreal hardcourt tournament and claim her 14th career singles crown. She broke early in the second set and never looked back.
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“I think I need more experience in these kind of matches, but this is a great week even though I lost to Novak”.
