Men’s Olympic Tennis Quarter-Final – Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori taking place? Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori will take place on Thursday 29th July, 2021 at (not before) 08:30 (UK)
Where is Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori taking place? Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori will take place at Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo
What surface is Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori played on? Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori will be played on hard courts
Where can I get tickets for Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori? There are no tickets for Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori as Olympic Tennis will take place without spectators.
What TV channel is Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori on in the UK? Olympic coverage is shared between BBC and Eurosport so it is worth checking their schedules for Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori
Where can I stream Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori in the UK? If Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori is televised on BBC then it can be streamed live on the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website & app. If Novak Djokovic vs Kei Nishikori is televised on Eurosport then subscribers can stream the match live on Eurosport Player
THE PREDICTION
World number one kept the dream of a first Male ‘Golden Slam’ alive by beating friend off the court Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in straight sets on Wednesday. The Serb has looked totally imperious so far this week at his fourth Olympic Games and he looks set to either reach a first gold medal match himself or maintain an unwelcome record of losing to an eventual finalist in each of his three Olympic campaigns so far. Defeat to eventual champions Rafael Nadal in 2008, Andy Murray in 2012 and Juan Martin del Potro in 2016 will have hurt but the Serb has had no better chance than this to put the final trophy not yet in his overflowing cabinet.
There is so much riding on this mouth-watering quarter-final as the 34-year-old faces an old foe in Kei Nishikori. The Japanese star has been exceptional so far at Tokyo 2020 as the face of tennis since Naomi Osaka’s exit as he beat the world number seven Andrey Rublev alongside Marcos Giron and in-form Ilya Ivashka. 31-year-old Nishikori has faced Djokovic an incredible 18 times and won only two of those encounters, one at the Basel Indoors in 2011 and the other over four sets in the semi finals of the US Open in 2014. That record does not bode well for the current world number 69’s chances but his determination as the home hopeful and his innate ability to fight back is enough to take Djokovic as the outright winner here instead of in straight sets. Djokovic has won the last 15 meetings in a row, with Nishikori taking sets in five of them.
