Novak Djokovic edged past Kei Nishikori 2-6 6-1 6-3 in a Rome thriller as he advanced to the Semi-Finals, where he will play Rafael Nadal for the 51st time in his career.
The meeting at the Foro Italico was the second time they had met in two weeks and the third time in four years that they had played each other in Rome. In their latest meeting it was Nishikori who made the faster start as he painted the lines with his trademark backhand, which caused the Serb all sorts of problems. The world number continued to build on his rapid start as he broke twice and stormed into a 5-1 lead. As for the former champion he couldn’t find his form as he lost the first set in just 37 minutes.
The second set had a similar pattern except, it was Djokovic’s turn to dominate as his serving was back to its imperious best. His returning was also causing Nishikori problems as the world number 18 won the first four games of the set. Despite breaking back, the Japanese star had nothing to offer as the Serb cruised to the second set to force a deciding set.
Unlike the opening two sets, the third set brought great drama and entertainment as Djokovic was looking to win his first match in a deciding set since beating Diego Schwartzman in the third round of last year’s French Open. The Serb had originally broken in the third game and took the initial advantage, that was until the former semi-finalist broke straight back. The Serb’s metal fortitude as there were a lot of frustrating games, which lasted a long time as Nishikori looked to beat Djokovic for only the fourth time in his career.
However Djokovic’s angles were insanely good and that proved to be the pivotal moment in the match as he broke twice towards the end of the set to seal one of his biggest wins since coming back from injury. The win means that he will avoid playing a top eight seed at Roland Garros until the fourth round at least. It also means that he will play Rafael Nadal in their 51st meeting and the 219th meeting between the ‘big four’.
