Tennis News

Following dreadful starts I their respective encounters on Monday, US Open champion Marin Cilic and Czech No. 1 Tomas Berdych will be looking to redeem themselves with better performances in their second matches in Group A. A loss here would almost surely mean the end of their run at the prestigious year-end championships – something neither man will be looking forward to. Berdych leads the head-to-head series 5-4 but they split their only two previous indoor meetings, which only adds to the overall selling point of the match. In their last encounter, the Croat overcame the Czech in the US Open quarter-finals in straight sets.

Follow the match live here: Tomas Berdych v Marin Cilic

Although he had pushed Djokovic in all three of their previous meetings this season, including a five set thriller at the Wimbledon Championships, Marin Cilic was unable to assert himself in his World Tour Final debut and simply crumbled against an aggressive Djokovic. While Cilic appeared promising in his opening service game, he was unable to win more than two games in the entire match, and didn’t even hold serve in the second set.

“I felt that Novak played really, really solid today,” said Cilic. “I felt a little bit uncomfortable on the court, rusty… I felt that I was not hitting it clean. That’s always difficult, especially against Novak, to get away with a win when you’re not playing so good.”

Another pair of breadsticks occurred in the Monday match-up between Tomas Berdych and Stan Wawrinka, as the Czech No. 1 was blown off court by his Swiss adversary with a 6-1, 6-1 end result. Berdych, who struck 20 unforced errors, admitted that it was quite possibly his worst match of the season. This is made particularly worse when you consider Wawrinka’s terrible 1-4 run throughout the Fall.

“Unfortunately, it was my worst match of the whole season and I kept it for the start here,” said Berdych. “Today, I didn’t really feel anything right. I can just keep fighting and try to play good tennis.”

This marks the tenth time that Cilic and Berdych will meet on the professional tour and will likely serve as one of their more pivotal encounters yet. Both were embarrassed in their WTF openers and will be looking to avenge themselves with sharper performances and a victory to keep their hopes alive.

Prediction: Marin Cilic in Three Sets

The second day of Group B action will feature a rubber match of sorts between Sunday’s two victorious players Roger Federer and Kei Nishikori. The two competitors are locked in a tight head-to-head battle, as the overall series is tied at 2-2. They also split their two meetings so far this season, with Nishikori edging the Swiss star at the Miami Masters, while Federer notched the win later in the season in Halle. Check out the Federer v Nishikori H2H matches

A six-time champion at the Barclays World Tour Finals, Roger Federer arrived in London with the knowledge that he had been placed in the trickier of the two groups. However, he began his campaign at the O2 Arena by avenging his Paris Bercy loss to Milos Raonic with a 6-1, 7-6(0) victory in the evening session.

Federer stormed through the opening set in 25 minutes but faced far more resistance in the second set. Nevertheless, while the match remained on serve through 12 games, Federer would dominate the tiebreak and finish off the match without letting the Canadian win a single point in the ‘breaker’.

“I think I played really well for probably one and a half sets,” said Federer. “It was good to get off to a good start like I did against him at Cincinnati and Wimbledon. I broke in the first game and sort of never looked back.

“Thankfully he didn’t play quite so well like he did in Paris. He gave me a few shots here and there, especially at the beginning of the breaker. I think those were crucial. I was happy to bring it home because it was very close at the end of the second.”

Japanese No. 1 Kei Nishikori also began his week in spectacular fashion, as he dispatched British No. 1 Andy Murray in straight sets 6-4, 6-4 in front of the Scot’s adoring fans. It was an impressive start for Nishikori, who was making his WTF debut.

“I was a little bit tight in the beginning, but I started feeling a little more confident in especially second set,” said Nishikori. “I was very, very solid… I was a little bit surprised at how I played on the court: very confident. I’m looking forward to play the next match.”

With the head-to-head series tied at 2-2, this will undoubtedly be the match to watch on Tuesday afternoon. Both Federer and Nishikori have had solid seasons on the tour and appear to be in fine form this week in London. While Federer should hold the advantage on this surface, Nishikori could once again prove that he should never be underestimated.

Prediction: Roger Federer in Three Sets

Commonwealth competitors Andy Murray and Milos Raonic will meet on the second day of group B action in what will undoubtedly be crucial encounter to determine who will have a chance to advance to the semi-final stage of the tournament. Of their six previous meetings, Raonic leads the series 4-2, including wins in their last two contests. Check out the Murray v Raonic Head to Head

Although Murray had the early break lead and faced a timid Nishikori early in the match, he was unable to take advantage of the opportunity and eventually lost to the Japanese No. 1 in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. The Briton, who worked his way from 0-3 down to 4-3 up in the second set, was unable to sustain his efforts late in the match, and simply appeared out of sort after having an inspiring five-week run on the tour.

“It’s harder to qualify when you lose your first match. That’s pretty obvious. But unlike the other events, you still have a chance to go through. If this were anywhere else, I would be out of the tournament. You need to try to forget about today, work on some things tomorrow, and hopefully play better on Tuesday.

“Now I need to win my next two matches more than likely and win them well if I want to go through. That’s going to be tricky because Milos obviously played fantastic last week in Paris, and Roger always plays well at this event. So I’m definitely going to have to play better if I want to get through.”

While he was immediately blown off the court in the opening set, Raonic came to life in the second set started to make his return shots and slowly saw his confidence and shotmaking creep back into his game. He successfully worked held serve at pivotal moments, and forced Federer into several tight positions in his first four service games.

The contest remained on serve through 12 games, which forced Raonic into a must-win tiebreak to level the match. However, Federer took an early 3-0 lead and simply never looked back. Moments later, he closed out the tiebreak without losing a single point.

“Obviously it can come down just to one play, and we might be playing a third set,” said Raonic. “But it’s obviously disappointing, very disappointing actually, the way I finished that second set off…Today the big difference was when he would get his racquet on the ball, he would make me play all the time. He was giving me some shots in Paris in that sense, some quicker points.“

This marks the seventh time that these two competitors will meet on the professional tour, with Raonic leading the series 4-2. The Canadian has also won their two most recent encounters, including their only meeting in 2014. Both players will be motivated to keep their hopes alive in the tournament, and will be determined not to lose.

Prediction: Andy Murray in Three Sets