Novak Djokovic – Nole stays at #1, but his play in Toronto, Cincinnati and to a lesser extent New York leave some questions. Novak did not handle the hot and humid conditions well in New York. He struggled with the heat late in the Kohlschreiber match and against Nishikori who had played 10 sets in…
Category: Kei Nishikori
Tennis Fans: Reasons to be Excited about Nishikori vs. Cilic
Saturday Blues I will admit that I was sad when Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer lost on Saturday. I thoroughly enjoyed Novak Djokovic’s performance at the 2007 Miami Masters event. From that point forward, I’ve been a fan of his. Similarly in 2001, I predicted Roger Federer to beat Pete Sampras at Wimbledon and told…
US Open 2014: Marin Cilic vs. Kei Nishikori Championship Prediction
Odds If someone looked at the draw and picked this final, I want to have you pick some lottery numbers for me. Kei Nishikori had established himself as a dangerous if fragile player in 2014 after being seen largely as a potentially good player. Kei beat Roger Federer in the Miami quarterfinal round only to…
US Open 2014: Djokovic vs. Nishikori Prediction
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…
US Open 2014: Wawrinka-Nishikori & Djokovic-Murray Predictions
And here we go … Stan Wawrinka (SUI) [3] vs. Kei Nishikori (JPN) [10] If this is the undercard match, it is a great undercard. Nishikori played well in Melbourne and in Miami looked like a man ready to breakthrough before he withdrew. In Madrid, he had Nadal on the ropes until health failed him. If Nishikori…
US Open 2014: Labor Day Men’s Predictions
Predicted Winners in BOLD 4 Heavy Weight Prize Fights Big Time Matches on Tap Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) [9] vs. Andy Murray (GBR) [8] – Tsonga’s conquest of Toronto and Murray’s first round cramping make this close to a 50-50 match. Murray even gave up a break lead in the 3rd set to let Tsonga off of the hook. I…
US Open 2014: Day 2 Men’s Predictions
Predicted Winners in BOLD [13] John Isner (USA) vs. [WC] Marcos Giron (USA) – Isner needs to make quick work of his compatriot. [2] Roger Federer (SUI) vs. Marinko Matosevic (AUS) – This match may be one of the harder parts of Roger’s first week draw. Sam Querrey (USA) vs. Maxino Gonzalez (ARG) – Sam…
Wawrinka, Nishikori, and Dimitrov Demonstrate that the Big 4 are not Easy to Emulate
I will have my predictions for tomorrow up by 12 AM EST. I just want to make a quick point that Stan Wawrinka winning his first Grand Slam title, first Masters Series title, and a 250 level title in 2014 along with his US Open and WTF semifinal showings in 2013 prove he is among…
Nishikori vs. Nadal Prediction
Nishikori is in the Top 10 Melbourne, Miami, Barcelona and Madrid prove Kei Nishikori belongs in the top 10. His talent and recent consistency have Nishikori taking advantage of a year of upheaval in the tennis pecking order. Michael Chang’s influence as coach has to be lauded as well. Nishikori could become King of Spain…
Nishikori vs. Ferrer Should Be Something
Ferrer is Focused David Ferrer did not exactly back up his upset of Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo. He lost to Wawrinka and then lost early in Barcelona. Nevertheless, Ferrer is one of the top clay court players of the past decade. He is fit and fights for everything. His wins in Madrid have him…
Tennis Abides: Dan Martin on Tennis and Life 