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Tomas Berdych and Kei Nishikori might not have too many chances to qualify from the Stan Smith group, as they lost to Federer and Djokovic respectively in the first round – but both guys will be surely looking to book one win at the ATP World Tour finals and give themselves a chance in the final round.
Berdych is in good shape right now, very good shape actually. In his last two tournaments he won at Stockholm and reached the Paris quarterfinals but, like it usually happened in the last couple of years, he doesn`t quite have answers against the absolute top guys. Tomas lost to Djokovic 6-7 6-7 in Paris (great performance) and to Federer 4-6 2-6 in the first round here in London – despite starting the match very well.
Kei Nishikori was struggling with injury before this tournament and at one point he wasn`t sure if he will play, but eventually he took the court against Djokovic on Sunday. He may wish he didn`t, as Kei was demolished 1-6 1-6 and went on to say that he`s not quite 100% fit. Recent form hasn`t been good for the Japanese and prior to London he retired in the Paris 2nd round against Gasquet.
Bet on Berdych vs. Nishikori with the highest ATP World Tour Finals odds at 1xBet.
Kei Nishikori leads the Head 2 Head 3-1 (3-0 on hard), but the last match was back in 2012. You can see why Nishikori’s style would give Berdych problems, even though the two did not meet in such a long time. Kei’s counter punching ability, speed and stamina makes it hard for Tomas to get winners and he ends up missing shots.
There are some questionmarks going into this game, particularly about Nishikori’s fitness and somehow I don`t see this ending up being a 3 set thriller. Both players have been straightforward in their losses / wins recently, as both are rhythm players and usually either play well and win in 2 sets or play poorly and spread errors all over the place, losing in 2 sets.
If Nishikori is not at his best, like it seems to be the case, he will most likely get blown out and might not even force himself too much, as he doesn`t want to endanger his start of 2016. However, if he recovered and will be fit, he can outrun Berdych here and eventually take the life out of him. An inspired Nishikori performance would force Berdych to always hit the extra shot and he`s always very vulnerable when that happens, unable to find answers.
The first above mentioned scenario is more likely, but the odds on Berdych are rather short. The under / over line set by the bookmakers is fair at 22,5 games and my tip will be the under. Prediction: Tomas Berdych – Kei Nishikori 6-4 6-3.
Pick: under 22,5 games
Odds: 1.90 @ Sbobet
Stake: 8
Possible profit: 7.20
Event date: 17 November
