World no.1 Novak Djokovic powered into the BNP Paribas Masters final with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over no.6 seed Kei Nishikori at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy on Saturday.
Novak needed just 62 minutes to record his 599th career win and reach his 69th tour-level final (46-22).
The defending champion broke Nishikori’s serve twice to grab the opener in 28 minutes.
After they exchanged breaks midway through the second set, Djokovic broke once again and saved three break points before extending his lead to 5-2. He served out the match two games later claiming his 56th win of the season.
“It was a great match,” the top-seeded Serb told Sky Sports. “I haven’t dropped a set getting into the finals. I definitely feel fresh and motivated to play well tomorrow. We could see Kei wasn’t serving at his best, maybe he was fatigued from finishing late last night. Regardless, I played well and concentrated on what I needed to do. I served exceptionally well in the important moments and it’s something that encourages me for tomorrow.”
Match statistics: aces (8-1), double faults (0-4), winners (20-9), unforced errors (14-23), total points won (60-36).
Novak will face seventh-seeded Milos Raonic in the final on Sunday at 15.00 CET.
The 23-year-old Canadian defeated the 2005 titlist Tomas Berdych (6-3, 3-6, 7-5).
It will be the fourth ATP Head2Head meeting between the two. Djokovic leads the rivalry 3-0.
“I’ve been very impressed with Raonic. He’s one of the best servers in the game. He has very good movement for somebody of his height. He’s improved his baseline game and he’s a complete player now. He’s coming off back-to-back wins against Federer and Berdych and I’m sure he’s motivated to win tomorrow. Having said that he’s one of the best servers, one of the keys of the match will be trying to get as many returns back in the court and make him play.”
Novak is bidding to win his 20th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown and third in the French capital (2009, 2013).
Photo: AP
