I have to admit that Novak Djokovic vs. Andy Murray is my favorite match-up among the Big 4.  I really enjoyed their quarterfinal match.  Novak has looked nothing like the player who went 2-2 and won only 4 of 10 sets played after Wimbledon.  He looks sharp and delivered a pretty strong message in beating Andy Murray in a rematch of their 2012 US Open final.  Djokoic obviously enjoyed his two days of rest as well.  Kei Nishikori has to be very happy about getting two days of rest after his quarterfinal match as he put in back-to-back 5 set wars with Milos Raonic and Stanislas Wawrinka.  

The head-to-head between Nishikori and Nole is pretty meaningless.  Nishikori had Rafa in deep trouble on clay this year in Spain.  He beat Roger Federer in Miami.  The guy has a lot of game.  Michael Chang has helped his mentality and match play.  Boris Becker has helped Nole rediscover what he had in 2011.  I think this is Kei’s biggest problem.  Novak was the most consistent player in tennis in 2012 and 2013, but he had struggled in Grand Slam championship matches after his epic 2011 campaign.  Now, Nole is coming off of a nearly squandered Wimbledon title.  He overcame his near misses and banked tennis’ biggest trophy against tennis’ most decorated champion.  Nole’s demons appear to be in the rearview mirror and Novak is at a stage of his career in which he can pile up multiple majors to add to his 7 Grand Slam titles.  I think a greedy Novak is not someone anyone is favored against on a hard court.  Kei has game, but Novak is the state of the art at the moment.  Prediction: Djokovic d. Nishikori 7-6, 6-4, 6-4