Preview: Can Nishikori Snap Djokovic’s Winning Streak?

As any player will attest, some losses sting more than others but it’s what you learn from them that counts. For Novak Djokovic, a four-set defeat to Kei Nishikori in the 2014 US Open semi-finals did not so much spark a learning curve as a learning leap.

Defeat at the time sent Nishikori through to his lone Grand Slam final to date. It also handed him a 2-1 FedEx ATP Head2Head edge over the Serbian. How quickly those tides turned. Djokovic has never lost to the Japanese player since – that’s 13 straight victories now.

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As the No. 6 seed and two-time US Open champion admitted ahead of their semi-final on Friday, there was something about Nishikori’s game that flicked his competitive switch from the get-go.

“We had some matches where I won in straight sets, but we had a lot of matches, especially on clay courts, where it went the distance, where a couple of points really decided the winner,” Djokovic said. “In Rome we played a couple matches there. This year he was close to being the winner of that match.

“I have a very good head-to-head score against him. But because he plays so fast, he makes me more alert from the first point because I know I have to be at my best in order to compete with him from the baseline.”

Djokovic has beaten him three times this year already, including the quarter-finals en route to his fourth Wimbledon trophy. It was a trophy run that restored his confidence and carried into the North American hard-court summer, where he went on to complete the Career Golden Masters in Cincinnati. After seeing off the dogged challenge of Roger Federer’s conqueror, John Millman, to reach the semi-finals, it became clear Djokovic was again beginning to peak at the pointy end of the tournament.

Having missed last year’s US Open and this year’s Australian Open due to a right wrist injury, 2018 has been a season of rebuilding for former World No. 4, Nishikori. He avenged his 2014 US Open final defeat to Marin Cilic on Wednesday, denying the No. 7 seed in five sets. 

The 28-year-old said he was playing without the pressure to maintain a Top 10 ranking and it was showing. He might do well now to dig up footage of his semi-final victory over Djokovic from four years ago.

“Yeah, I forgot about it,” he grinned. “I always have good memories here. It was a tough battle against Novak. For sure, it’s gonna give me good confidence, even though I [can’t] remember. Maybe I will try to watch the match again, if he wins, and get more confidence.”

In a showdown between two of the ATP World Tour’s best baseline movers, Nishikori would not shy away from what made this match-up so difficult for him.  

“Well, he’s very solid from baseline,” the No. 21 seed said. “He doesn’t have many weakness. He has a great backhand and forehand, too. He can be aggressive, and serve, he got better, too. I will say everything.”