Roger Sets Blockbuster Paris QF Against Novak

Roger Federer continued chasing his 100th tour-level title on Friday with an impressive 6-4, 6-4 victory against in-form Kei Nishikori, setting a blockbuster Rolex Paris Masters semi-final against four-time tournament winner Novak Djokovic.

It will be Federer’s 47th FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting against Djokovic, who has won 21 tour-level matches in a row, and 30 of his past 31 matches dating back to the start of Wimbledon. In their only clash this season, Djokovic defeated Federer in straight sets to win the Western & Southern Open to complete the Career Golden Masters.

Federer will have plenty of motivation to avenge that loss, as he stands two matches from becoming the second player behind Jimmy Connors (109) to win 100 titles. Last week, the Swiss lifted his ninth hometown trophy at the Swiss Indoors Basel to give him 99 crowns overall, and he has now won seven matches in a row to improve his record to 46-7 in 2018.

Federer leads Nishikori 7-2 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, and the Swiss has triumphed in their past six meetings, including a match just three weeks ago at the Rolex Shanghai Masters. While Nishikori broke the 37-year-old twice in China, Federer’s serve dominated their Parisian quarter-final, as the third seed lost just one first-serve point (27/28) and saved the only break point he faced. Federer won a higher percentage of second-serve points (59%) than Nishikori did on his first serve (57%).

The 2011 Paris champion, who is into the last four here for the first time since 2013, only landed 52 per cent of his first serves. But he placed his delivery quite well, painting the lines with various spins and paces to keep an elite returner in Nishikori from being aggressive on return. That kept the Japanese star from controlling many baseline rallies, allowing Federer to cruise to victory in 79 minutes.

By virtue of his loss against Federer, Nishikori will finish ninth in the ATP Race To London. That means that Marin Cilic and Dominic Thiem have clinched the final two spots at the Nitto ATP Finals, to take place at The O2 in London from 11-18 November.

Did You Know?
Saturday's semi-final between Federer and Djokovic will be their 10th consecutive meeting at the Nitto ATP Finals, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event or a Grand Slam.

from Tennis - ATP World Tour https://ift.tt/2DkpkwC