Nishikori To Battle Djokovic In Madrid SF

SEMI-FINAL PREVIEW: No. 5 seed Rafael Nadal and No. 2 seed Andy Murray will meet on Saturday in a rematch of the 2015 Mutua Madrid Open final and for a spot in the 2016 final. Nadal is on a 13-match winning streak, coming off consecutive clay-court titles at ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo and Barcelona. He is also 7-1 on clay and 17-6 overall against Murray, including a three-set win in Monte-Carlo on April 16. Nadal’s lone clay-court loss to Murray came at the Caja Mágica one year ago, when the Brit was not broken in his 63 62 championship victory.

Murray needs to win his third Madrid title this week in order to remain No. 2 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Should Nadal capture his fifth Madrid championship, he would pass Guillermo Vilas with an Open Era-record 50th title on clay and Novak Djokovic with a record 29th ATP Masters 1000 title. Djokovic, however, is still in the hunt for his second Madrid crown, which would break his ATP Masters 1000 title tie with Nadal. The World No. 1 is on a six-match winning streak against his semi-final opponent on Saturday, 2014 Madrid finalist Kei Nishikori. Djokovic has also swept 13 straight matches against other Top 10 players, claiming 29 of 30 sets during that stretch.

In the doubles semi-finals, Nicolas Mahut and Marcelo Melo continue their race for No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings. If Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert defeat Jean-Julien Rojer and Horia Tecau, then Melo and Ivan Dodig lose to Rohan Bopanna and Florin Mergea, Mahut will become the 49th doubles No. 1 on Monday. If the Frenchmen fall on Saturday, Melo will reclaim the No. 1 ranking even if he and Dodig are defeated by the defending champions Bopanna and Mergea. If Mahut and Herbert meet Melo and Dodig for the title on Sunday, the winner will be No. 1.

Mahut and Herbert are on a 15-match winning streak with ATP Masters 1000 titles at Indian Wells, Miami and Monte-Carlo. They are bidding to become the first doubles team or singles player to sweep the first four ATP Masters 1000 tournaments in a calendar year. Individually, Mahut is on a 19-match winning streak that includes his Rotterdam championship alongside Vasek Pospisil.