Novak Djokovic beats Kei Nishikori for 4th Rogers Cup title

“It’s nice that we got to sense and feel that kind of energy around the stadium”.

Since the US Open of 2014 the dozen set scores on hard courts have all been 6-0 (one), 6-1 (three), 6-2 (two), 6-3 (five) or 6-4 (one), with the most tempting options today being the 6-1 or 6-2 to Djokovic.

Djokovic is trying to win a record 30th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title.

“I worked on it (with my coach)”, Djokovic, who struggled on serve earlier in the tournament, said in a courtside interview. “I’m going to do something I’ve never done before”. In the first set, Anderson put just 48 percent of his first serves in play, which proved costly as he won only 23 percent of his second-serve points and was broken three times. I think I’m a guy always pumped up. “So I expect that I will not have a good rhythm because she can hit a victor and you don’t see the ball, but she can miss sometimes”.

Once Halep shook off some early nerves, she was able to pressure the Russian veteran’s serve and was rewarded when Kuznetsova surrendered an early break in the second set with a double fault. After the break point Nishikori bent over, clenching his fist in celebration.

The one they call Nole did not relent, breaking back to go up 6-5 in the second and serve out the match. While the world No.1 had monstrous support, particularly from Serbian-Canadian fans, there were several pockets of fans roaring for Nishikori, too, and wildly waving Japanese flags. So now, along with the Cincinnati Masters 1000 title, an Olympic gold still elude the prolific Djokovic.

So the summer North American swing begins the same way the spring US ended in Miami, with Djokovic and Nishikori battling for a Masters title. He was going for his shot and being much better in the rallies – not even solid, but super solid.

“It has happened many times in my career where I would start a tournament still feeling a little bit uncomfortable on the court and finding my rhythm, and then in the end of the tournament I find that proper comfort level with shots, with the way I feel, with mental attitude”.

“He played really deep, and he didn’t give me any, like, free points”.

In men’s doubles action, Vancouver’s Philip Bester and Adil Shamasdin of Toronto got past world No. 1 singles player Novak Djokovic and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia 7-5, 4-6, 10-2. When he pulled out of the Olympics Raonic referenced Zika, but he also said that he had “a variety of health concerns”.

After a quick 32-minute first set, Djokovic overcame a break point by Nishikori with two breaks of his own in the second set to clinch the title, 1000 ATP points and the 782,525 United States dollar prize. Djokovic consolidated the break at 30-despite some spotty serving-to take a 5-2 lead.

Djokovic won the first set on a wild exchange with both players making desperate stabs at the ball that arched high and barely stayed in.

For Japan’s Nishikori, Sunday’s final appears to be a daunting task.