Serbian Novak Djokovic reached the final of the Mutua Madrid Open for the second time by defeating Japanese Kei Nishikori 6-3, 7-6 (4) and will fight this Sunday for the title with British Andy Murray, Rafael Nadal’s executioner.
With the roof uncovered, taking advantage of the abated rain, the current world number one, defeated the sixth in one hour and 58 minutes, and will opt again for the title he won in 2011.
Two years after his last appearance in Madrid, when he lost to his compatriot Janko Tipsarevic in the quarterfinals, «Nole» has come back strong and has been planted in the final without giving up a single set in four games, all resolved on the road. fast, without shocks, although in tonight he hesitated to win in the end.
His freshness, after falling at the first exchange rate before the Czech Jiri Vesely in Monte Carlo, has helped him to slide quickly, to make easy what seems almost impossible for others, and even to ingratiate himself with the Madrid public, with whom he had some touch in the past, making an effort to speak in Castilian.
Against Nishikori, whom he had defeated seven times out of the nine matches, the last six in a row, from the 1,000 Masters in Paris in 2014 to Miami this year, giving up only two sets, the Serbian was forceful for three-quarters of the match. , seamlessly, squeezing only when he saw fit, and being “spied on” in the stands by Jamie Delgado, Murray’s coach.
Djokovic acclimated much better to the humidity and even the cold of the Madrid night and dominated an intense match, but without apparent effort and great naturalness, without conceding a single break, until almost the end when Nishikori woke up.
The Japanese, finalist last year against Nadal, had fought on Friday a great battle with Australian Nick Kyrgios (6-7, 7-6 and 6-3), before whom he was only two points away from defeat, and perhaps He noticed something else the accumulated fatigue, and the tension of the moment. His serve failed twice against “Nole”, and that against the best in the world, carries an added risk, almost definitive.
Djokovic only had a moment’s hesitation, when he served to win the game at 5-4 and was placed at 40-0. He made two misses and a double fault, racked up a warning for running out of time to serve, and wasted three match points. Nishikori saved one more in one of the most intense exchanges of the match, and then “Nole” again added another double fault. The nerves appeared on the face of ‘Nole’ and the Japanese took hold and caused the tiebreaker.
It seemed the Japanese recovered, but Djokovic’s confidence in his game was evident and in a long rally, and on the fifth chance, he reached his goal.
“It is not easy to play against Nishikori he is one of the best from the baseline, we expected to play with the roof closed and with this wind it is not easy. I failed easy in the first game balls and thank goodness I was able to find victory, “he said.
In the final, number one and number two will decide the title this Sunday from 6:30 p.m. Murray, who defeated Nadal in the other semifinal, 7-5, 6-4 in two hours and 11 minutes, needs to win again in Madrid if he does not want the Swiss Roger Federer to snatch second place on the world list, this Monday.
Djokovic has beaten Murray 22 of the 31 times they have met. On the ground a 3-0 looks favorable to Belgrade, the last in the semi-finals at Roland Garros last year when he needed five sets to beat the Scotsman.
This year, Djokovic beat Murray in the Australian Open final, one of only four titles he has won this season. If he won in Madrid for the second time, he would break the equality with Nadal in terms of 1,000 Masters won and would reach 30.
Djokovic-Murray is the final of the Madrid Masters
