Close Encounter Expected Between Nishikori And Wawrinka

It`s sure to be a close run thing in the quarter-final of the Australian Open tomorrow (1:00) as fourth seed Stan Wawrinka looks to get one over on seed number five Kei Nishikori. The early stage exits of both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have significantly improved both players` chances of winning the tournament outright and can be backed at 14/1 and 11/1 respectively (both bet365) to do so, the odds of the victor surely to be slashed again following their Wednesday morning win.

This encounter will be the fourth time the two men have met on-court since 2012 with the Swiss number two holding a 2-1 record over the Japanese contender. On hard court surfaces, however, the head-to-head is tied at 1-1.

Lausanne-born Wawrinka recorded his first victory over Nishikori in the quarter-final of the 2012 ATP Buenos Aires tournament. It took the 29-year-old just over an hour and a half to see off his rival 6-4, 6-2 before being defeated by Nicolas Almagro in the final four.

His first hard court success over the diminutive five foot 10 Japanese player came just a few months later in the Cincinnati Masters. In another quick straight sets win, Nishikori fell to a 6-3, 6-3 defeat in 74 minutes.

Twenty-five-year-old Nishikori had to wait until 2014 for his first and only ATP triumph over Wawrinka, coming out on top against the Swiss in a mammoth five set marathon in the quarter-final of the US Open. Nishikori lost the first set 6-3 but eventually took a two set to one lead before regaining momentum to take the match after Wawrinka claimed the fourth set tie-break.

From this result of 3-6, 7-5, 7-6, 6-7, 6-4, Nishikori would go on to defeat world number one Novak Djokovic in the semi-final (6-4, 1-6, 7-6, 6-3) to reach his first Grand Slam final but would lose out in straight sets (6-3, 6-3, 6-3) to Marin Cilic of Croatia.

Despite Wawrinka being the reigning Australian Open champion, it is his opponent who is the odds on favourite to progress through to the semi-final stage. Nishikori can be wagered at 8/11 with Bet 365 whilst the champ is 11/10 with the same bookmaker.

Perhaps the desire to back the player ranked fifth in the world is a combination of his continued displays of resilience and his comfortable straight sets victory over fellow seed David Ferrer (9) in the fourth round (6-3, 6-3, 6-3).

Nishikori`s resilience has played its part in both the second and third rounds of the competition when having to come from behind after dropping the first set. Ivan Dodig bit the dust in the second round despite taking a 6-4 victory in the opener. Japan`s representative would eventually win in four taking the second set 7-5, the third 6-2 and the fourth 7-3.

By earning himself a quarter-final place Nishikori has equalled his best ever finish in this competition. He did, however, have to avoid another upset at the hands of the USA`s Steve Johnson who ran out the 7-6 victor of the opening set. The remaining sets fell the way of the tie`s favourite and he claimed the following three 6-1, 6-2, 6-3.

As a result of this, both Betvictor and sportingbet are offering odds of 9/2 on him coming from a set down to take the tie.

Unlike his opponent, Wawrinka is yet to lose an opening set in the tournament this year, having only been taken to a fourth once by Spain`s Guillermo Garcia-Lopez. That match ended 7-6, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6. Should you fancy him to beat Nishikori then, it might be worth taking a 9/2 (bet365) punt on the Swiss player winning in straight sets.

As well as Garcia-Lopez, Wawrinka has previously put Marsel Ilhan, Marius Copil and Jarkko Nieminen to the sword.

Go To bet365

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27/01/2015     © Frixo 2024