#3. Andy Murray vs Kei Nishikori
This year has probably been Andy Murray’s best year so far and becoming the new World No.1 is definitely the icing on his cake but winning the World Tour Finals would add the cherry on top. He began his year by reaching his fifth Australian Open final before being humbled by Novak Djokovic in straight sets. This was followed by a string of poor performances as he exited in the third round of both the Indian Wells Masters and the Miami Masters.
However, he bounced back by reaching the semi-finals of the Monte-Carlo Masters and the final of the Mutua Madrid Open. He won his first title of the year by winning the Italian Open after beating Djokovic in straight sets. He ended his clay-court season by reaching his maiden French Open final before being defeated by Djokovic in four sets.
Murray reunited with his former coach Ivan Lendl before the commencement of the grass-court season and went on to have a very successful grass-court season as he won a record fifth Queen’s Club Championships and a second Wimbledon title.
His good form continued as he won a second successive singles gold medal at the Rio Olympics, thus becoming the first player, male or female, to do so. However, his unbeaten streak came to a halt when Marin Cilic beat him in the final of the Cincinnati Masters. He was then shockingly ousted in the quarter-finals of the US Open by Kei Nishikori.
After the US Open, Murray had a brilliant Asian swing where he won every single tournament he played, namely China Open, Shanghai Masters, Vienna Open and the Paris Masters. At the Paris Masters, following Djokovic’s defeat in the quarter-finals and Murray receiving a walkover in the semi-finals, the Scot became the first Briton to attain the World No.1 ranking.
Nishikori and Murray have faced each other nine times with Murray leading 7-2. The two have faced each other three times this year with Murray winning the first two before Nishikori beat him in the quarter-finals of the US Open. Although Nishikori hasn’t been very consistent following the US Open, the fact that he is the last person to defeat Andy Murray this year (as of now) will definitely boost his confidencePrediction- Murray to win in straight sets
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