[6] N. Djokovic b. [21] K. Nishikori 6-3 6-4 6-2
The New York City Friday night crowd was asking for some drama in the second semifinal after the first one was cut short by Nadal’s retirement after only two sets, but their wishes remained unsatisfied. In a lopsided display of strength and solidity, n. 6 seed and Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic disposed of Kei Nishikori of Japan in straight sets (6-3, 6-4, 6-2) after 2 hours, 23 minutes.
This was Djokovic’s 15th win in 17 matches with the Japanese player, with the last defeat dating back four years to the 2014 US Open semifinal when Nishikori surprised him in four sets.
The head to head record was already hinting at a difficult evening for Kei, whose style of play does not match well with Djokovic’s. His only hopes were pinned to his ability to take the shots early, keeping points short and preventing the former world n.1 from developing his usual retrieving game.
The tough matchup for Nishikori against Djokovic was immediately evident as the Serbian goes up a break on the second game of the match and is able to defend it to the end of the first set exploiting his opponent’s inability to return effectively. More than six serves out of 10 are unreturned for Djokovic, who is much more comfortable playing aggressively than Kei is playing in defense.
After missing three break points in the opening game of the second set, Nole took a commanding lead breaking Nishikori two games later when the Japanese player failed to complete a 0-40 comeback and conceded his serve with a forehand unforced error at the fourth break opportunity. Kei’s newly found inclination towards closing points at the net after losing the first set did not last long and did not change the momentum of the match as Djokovic kept nailing Nishikori well behind the baseline with his relentless pressure.
The end of the second set and an early break by Novak in the third gave the match an aura of inevitability with Nishikori looking more and more disheartened and incapable of finding a game that could hurt Djokovic the slightest.
The Serbian is advancing to a record-tying eighth final at the US Open (together with Ivan Lendl and Pete Sampras) and on Sunday he will play his 23rd Major final (13-9) when he will try to reach Pete Sampras at 14 Major titles won. Djokovic has won 14 of the 18 previous matches with Del Potro, but the two have never met in a Grand Slam final and the last win by the Argentinian dates back to the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016 when Djokovic suffered a shock elimination in the first round and a blow to his gold medal ambitions.
