Nishikori Blasts Into Third Straight Barcelona Final

Kei Nishikori continued his assault on the Barcelona Open BancSabadell, extending his win streak to 14 consecutive matches with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Benoit Paire in Saturday’s semi-finals.

Nishikori, who has now won 13 sets in a row in Barcelona, will vie for a three-peat at the ATP World Tour 500 event against either top seed Rafael Nadal or Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber. The World No. 6 exacted revenge on Paire following two defeats last year, in the first round of the US Open and semis on home soil in Tokyo. He would fire 15 winners, including one ace, and benefitted from 27 unforced errors by his French opponent.

“I played very aggressively, especially attacking his second serve,” Nishikori said. “I stepped in more today. I will try to watch a little bit of the other semi-final to prepare well for tomorrow.”

The semi-finals of the 63rd Trofeo Conde de Godo got underway with the threat of ominous rain clouds in the distance. Nishikori would break twice in the opening set, dropping just three points on his own serve. A rifled running backhand pass gave him the initial break in the second set for 2-0, but Paire responded in kind, breaking right back with a volley winner. The Frenchman would eventually concede the decisive break in the fourth game and despite hitting a sublime between-the-legs hot shot down match point, he would succumb after just 67 minutes.

Second seed Nishikori converted five of nine break points and saved two of three faced to reach his 18th tour-level final. He leads the tournament this week with 34 of 37 service games won. The 26 year old will look to clinch a second three-peat on the ATP World Tour in 2016, having also achieved the feat in Memphis in February.