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Nishikori dumps Wawrinka out of Toronto Masters
TORONTO ( CANADA): Japan’s Kei Nishikori took advantage of a fade in form from Stan Wawrinka as Asia’s top player reached the final of the ATP Toronto Masters with
TORONTO ( CANADA): Japan’s Kei Nishikori took advantage of a fade in form from Stan Wawrinka as Asia’s top player reached the final of the ATP Toronto Masters with a 7-6(6), 6-1 victory.
Swiss second seed Wawrinka’s game went away during the tiebreaker, allowing Nishikori to move into his second Masters 1000 final of 2016, on Saturday.
Nishikori, who is still coming back from a Wimbledon rib injury, will face top seed Novak Djokovic after the Serbian beat Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-2.
“You do have a certain mental comfort knowing that you have had plenty of success against your opponent,” Djokovic said. “Nevertheless, that is not a certainty. That’s not a guarantee that you can win the match. Actually, it actually makes him more eager to come out and play his best tennis.”
The winner in 2007, 2011 and 2012 in the hardcourt event that rotates between Toronto and Montreal, Djokovic is trying to win a record 30th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title. The 29-year-old Serb has six victories this year and 65 in his career. He has 12 Grand Slam titles, winning this year in Australia and France.
Nishikori has lost his last eight matches with Djokovic, the last loss in the Key Biscayne final in April, and is 2-9 overall.
“Haven’t beat Novak for a long time on hard court,” Nishikori said. “I think it’s going to be a great challenge for me to play Novak again in the final, because we played in Miami and he dominated the game. So, I hope I can get revenge this time.” HALEP STUNS KERBER, WILL FACE KEYS IN FINAL MONTREAL: Fifth-seeded Romanian Simona Halep overcame a crisis of confidence in the second set to reach the final of the Rogers Cup with a 6-0, 3-6, 6-2 upset victory over second seed Angelique Kerber of Germany in Montreal on Saturday.
The topsy-turvy encounter lasted one hour 38 minutes.
The 24-year-old, who was beaten by Kerber in the last eight at Wimbledon on July 5, will take on 10th-seeded American Madison Keys in Sunday’s final at the hardcourt event.
Keys swept past unseeded qualifier Kristina Kucova of Slovakia 6-2, 6-1 in Saturday’s other semi-final, serving up nine aces as she wrapped up victory in just 51 minutes.
