By Chris Oddo | Sunday, November 15, 2015
Novak Djokovic's train keeps rolling in London as the Serb crushes Kei Nishikori to open his bid for a 5th World Tour Finals title.
Photo Source: Tennis TV
Novak Djokovic opened his bid for a record fourth consecutive ATP World Tour Finals title with a 6-1, 6-1 shellacking of 8th-seeded Kei Nishikori on Sunday at the O2 Arena in London.
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The Serb’s 23rd consecutive victory improves his 2015 record to 79-5 and increases his head-to-head advantage over Japan’s top dog to 5-2.
Djokovic also defeated Nishikori in three sets at the semifinals in London last year, before receiving a walkover in the final that gave him his third straight title and fourth overall at the ATP’s prestigious year-end event.
Only Roger Federer (6), Ivan Lendl (5) and Pete Sampras (5) have more titles at this event than Djokovic.
The World No. 1 was ruthless from the onset on Sunday, breaking on his third break point to take a 2-0 lead over Nishikori. Though Nishikori saved two break points to stay in touch in the fourth game, Djokovic would break through again for 5-1 when Nishikori’s ill-timed drop shot clipped the net.
Djokovic served out the set and continued his easy progress in a second set that saw him drop only six points on serve while not seeing a break point.
He closed with a perfect backhand volley that kissed the sideline, locking up his 58th straight-sets victory of the season.
Djokovic dropped only nine points on serve in the match, never facing a break point while striking 17 winners against 14 unforced errors.
Nishikori hit 11 winners against 22 unforced errors in the 65-minute contest.
Notes, Numbers, Tweets
Djokovic has now won 15 consecutive matches at the World Tour Finals. The last man to beat him? Janko Tipsarevic, 2011.
Djokovic has reached 14 consecutive finals, and is currently on a 38-match indoor winning streak. The last man to beat him indoors? Sam Querrey, Paris, 2012.
Nishikori drops to 2-3 lifetime at the World Tour Finals. He reached the semifinals in his first appearance last year.
Djokovic improves to 28-4 against the Top-10 with the win.
Djokovic received his trophy for notching the ATP’s year-end No. 1 ranking after the match. It’s the fourth time Djokovic will finish a year as No. 1, and the 12th consecutive time that either Federer, Nadal or Djokovic has locked up the ATP’s year-end top spot.