By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, July 29, 2021
Novak Djokovic dismissed Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-0 for his 22nd straight win, while Pablo Carreno Busta surprised world No. 2 Daniil Medvedev at the Olympics.
Photo credit: Getty
The world's top two players took dramatically divergent paths in Tokyo today.
World No. 1 Novak Djokovic played near picture-perfect tennis outclassing Kei Nishikori 6-2, 6-0 for his 22nd consecutive victory and spot in the Olympics semifinals.
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Pablo Carreno Busta wrote Daniil Medvedev out of the medal picture with a 6-2, 7-6(5) that left the second-ranked Russian smashing his Tecnifibre racquet in raging frustration.
Australian Open finalist Medvedev withstood severe heat and a tricky Fabio Fognini to reach the quarterfinals, but wilted against the unerring baseline play from the sixth-seeded Spaniard. Carreno Busta will play 12th-seeded Karen Khachanov for a spot in the gold-medal match.
Dictating play from all areas of the court, Djokovic dismissed home favorite Nishikori with ruthless efficiency. Djokovic converted five of 10 break points in a 70-minute thrashing he called his best performance of the tournament.
"I thought I played the best match of the tournament against the toughest opponent," Djokovic said. "Definitely Kei has got a lot of qualities. He's a Grand Slam finalist, established Top 10 player playing in Japan. No crowd in the stadium, but it felt like there were quite a bit of people in the stands.
"He likes these conditions. It's playing quick, but I just felt every shot was working really. Anything he tried I felt I had a solution and answer for his game."
It was Djokovic's 17th victory in 19 meetings with Nishikori. A ruthless Djokovic has not dropped a set in four tournament wins, raising his 2021 record to 38-3.
Continuing his quest to make history as the first man to capture the Golden Grand Slam—winning all four Grand Slam titles and the Olympic gold medal—Djokovic will face either fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev or Jeremy Chardy for a place in the gold-medal match.
Nishikori curled a forehand down the line wide giving the world No. 1 the opening break and a 2-0 lead.
Throughout the opening set, Djokovic stretched the court and attacked the Nishikori forehand. An ace and a flurry of forehands helped the Wimbledon winner hold for 5-2.
Drawing Nishikori forward with a drop shot, Djokovic blocked a high volley to break again and seal a one-set lead after 40 minutes.
An oppressive Djokovic squeezed open spaces giving Nishikori little room to operate. Stinging his shots with ambition, Djokovic scored his second straight break for a 2-0 second-set lead.
A disconsolate Nishikori looked out of ideas as he double-faulted away another break and a 4-0 lead to the top seed.
Djokovic is showing no signs of slowing in his hunt for history. He is now nine wins from completing the Golden Grand Slam and believes his explosive play will give him more energy for the medal round.
"It's gonna help a lot because I'm doubling up with mixed doubles to play on this court in a couple of hours so the less time I can spend on court the better it is conserve the energy," Djokovic said. " I try to be as efficient as possible. Obviously I have a clear game for every opponent.
"Sometimes it works better, sometimes maybe not as well. But you always have to find a way on the court to win. You can't always be at your best. Every day is different, but so far so good for me."