Japan’s Kei Nishikori is a win away from lifting his first ATP title since 2016 after defeating Mikhail Kukushkin 6-4, 6-3, in the semifinals of the Erste Bank Open.
The fifth seed remained unbroken through the 89-minute clash to extend his perfect winning record against his Kazakh rival to 8-0. Nishikori broke Kukushkin twice in the match, once at the end of the first set and then again during the early stages of the second. Sealing the win with the help of five aces and 22 winners.
“It’s great to be in the final here,” Nishikori said after the match. “The score might look easy, but the match was very tough. Kukushkin was defending well and never gave up. He played real good tennis.”
Nishikori is in the running to secure a spot at the season-ending ATP Finals next month in London. He is currently ranked outside of the top eight in ninth position. Should he win the title on Sunday, he would move to just 125 points adrift from a the qualifying spot. Nishikori’s triumph over Kukushkin is his 40th win on the tour this season.
Awaiting the 28-year-old next will be second seed Kevin Anderson. The South African will play in his fifth final of 2018 after outlasting Spain’s Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 3-6, 6-4. The world No.9 hit a total of 19 aces and won 77% of his first service points. The upcoming final will only be Anderson’s third in Europe. Should he win, it will be the biggest title on the tour in his career to date, as well as his fifth overall.
“Kei is playing great tennis right now. That will be a challenge. But I also have some things to offer so I’m sure we will see a great match.” Anderson said about playing Nishikori.
In their head-to-head, Nishikori leads 4-2 and won two out of their three most recent meetings. On the other hand, the Japanese No.1 hasn’t claimed a ATP trophy since February 2016 and has settled for runner-up eight times since then.
The final will take place on Sunday from 13:00 GMT.
