It was bound to happen.
Novak Djokovic lost in the semi finals of the Swiss Indoors to Kei Nishikori. This marks the first time a Japanese player has defeated the World Number 1. Nishikori faced Nadal twice when he was ranked #1.
Djokovic won the first set easily at 6-2, but once Nishikori settled down midway throught the second, he started winning points. He showed extreme composure in the second set tiebreak winning 7-4. Then, in a rare scene, Novak Djokovic was bageled. 6-0. We are used to seeing bagels when Djokovic plays, but this is the first against him in a long time.
This is only the second time this year that Djokovic has lost when the match was completed. Federer beat him at Roland Garros. He has four losses this season, but the other two are from retirements, one in Cincinnati against Andy Murray in the final, and the other coming against Juan Martin del Potro in Davis cup action.
Roger Federer beat Stan Wawrinka for the 11th time in 12 tries, which was to be expected in this teacher-student rivalry. Wawrinka has a mental black against Federer the way Federer does against Nadal.
The Basel Final is Sunday at 3 p.m. local time. Eastern Standard Time viewers, tune into www.ESPN3.com at 10 a.m. to see the final.
This is Federer's first meeting with Nishikori, so it should be a good one. Federer is looking for his second title of the year, and his 5th overall Basel title. Nishikori is looking for his second career title, he won Del Ray in 2008.
Enjoy!
Back to the Tennis Newsfeed