Djokovic looks to meet Federer or Murray in final clash at BNP Paribas Masters – Tennis News
Reigning world number one, Novak Djokovic hopes to add another Masters title to his name as he turns towards the season closing BNP Paribas Masters in Paris, France next week. With a world record of five titles at the ATP 1000
events, the unstoppable Serb looks to add yet another to this tally before his appearance as the top seed at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals at the O2 Arena in London later in the month.
With the draw for the Masters event announced, Djokovic faces a relatively easy field. A bye into the second round, the Serb looks to play either Italian Fabio Fognini or Croat Ivan Dodig. The world number one holds an insurmountable
lead over both the professionals. The Serb, however, may face problems in the third round. With a potential battle against Japanese Kei Nishikori or compatriot, Viktor Troicki, the Serb may face some resistance. Although Djoker holds a lead over Troicki and
will perhaps sail past him into the final eight, Nishikori may prove to be a problem. Having defeated the Japanese once in 2010 Roland Garros, the outcome of the Paris match may depend on the pair’s semi-final clash at the 2011 Davidoff Swiss Indoors in Basel.
With a potential quarterfinal matchup against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Nicolas Almagro, the Serb has the chance of playing David Ferrer in the semi-final. However, with only three defeats in the year, Djokovic is expected to sail
past his opponents. The Serb may have to battle through three sets, nevertheless, the world number one can be expected to be in the final two.
Seeded second in the event, Murray looks like a potential opponent for the Serb in the final. A bye into the second round, the potential seeds Murray faces are former world number one, Andy Roddick, Serb Janko Tipsarevic and Czech
Tomas Berdych.
However, the Brit’s biggest match up of the event is perhaps his potential semi-final clash against former world number one, the Swiss maestro Roger Federer. An extensive rivalry between the two, Murray is one of few players who
hold a lead over the Swiss in the head-to-head series, leading it by 9-6.
The winner of the semi-final match will move ahead to meet Djokovic in the title match. Be it Federer or Murray, both players hold one win over the Serb this year. In the absence of Rafael Nadal, three of the top four are expected
to put on an exciting and exhilarating tennis action for fans and spectators.
Tags: