Kei Nishikori vs Novak DjokovicPrediction, Head-to-Head Results, and Stats
Kei Nishikori and Novak Djokovic have met 16 times since 2015; Novak Djokovic leads 16–0. Their first meeting came at ATP Masters 1000 Rome in 2015 on clay. On hard courts Djokovic leads 9–0. On clay courts Djokovic leads 6–0. Djokovic has won the last 16 meetings. 2 of their meetings have been finals, with Djokovic leading those 2–0. Across all meetings Nishikori has taken 5 sets to Djokovic's 36. Their most recent meeting: Novak Djokovic won at U.S. Open - New York (2021).
Spread & Straight-Sets Form
Completed best-of-3 matches · Last 12 months
| Indicator | Nishikori | Djokovic | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Indicator | Kei Nishikori | Novak Djokovic | ||
| Wins in straight sets | 45% | 5/11 | 44% | 4/9 |
| Wins a set when losing | 40% | 4/10 | 75% | 3/4 |
| Goes to a deciding set | 48% | 10/21 | 62% | 8/13 |
| Covers −1.5 sets as favorite | 42% | 5/12 | 33% | 4/12 |
| Covers +1.5 sets as underdog | 56% | 5/9 | 100% | 1/1 |
| Tiebreak sets won | 40% | 2/5 | 80% | 4/5 |
| Wins after taking set 1 | 82% | 9/11 | 63% | 5/8 |
| Wins 2-0 after taking set 1 | 45% | 5/11 | 50% | 4/8 |
Colored rows are higher-is-better: green above 50%, red below. Favorite/underdog set by book odds; cover rows count only matches with odds on record. Head-to-head: 9 of 12 completed meetings ended in straight sets (Nishikori 0, Djokovic 9).
Style Matchup
Playing styles and historical archetype record
Nishikori
🏹 Frontrunner
Djokovic
🤖 Servebot
Matchup analysis
The 🤖 Servebot archetype wins about 54% vs 🏹 Frontrunner across 1,115 matches in our dataset: a stylistic lean toward Novak Djokovic.
Servebot players often use high ace rate and dominant service to pressure the frontrunner's fast starts.
Previous meetings
16 career meetings, newest first
Sep 4, 2021
U.S. Open - New York
H Hard · 3rd Round
Jul 29, 2021
Olympics - Tokyo
H Hard · Quarterfinals
Jul 26, 2021
Tokyo Olympics
C Clay · Quarterfinals
Jan 19, 2019
Australian Open
H Hard · Quarterfinals
Sep 7, 2018
US Open
H Hard · Semifinals
Jul 11, 2018
Wimbledon
G Grass · Quarterfinals
May 14, 2018
ATP Masters 1000 Rome
C Clay · Quarterfinals
May 7, 2018
ATP Masters 1000 Madrid
C Clay · Round of 64
Nov 17, 2016
ATP Finals
H Hard · Semifinals
Jul 31, 2016
ATP Masters 1000 Canada
H Hard · Final
May 13, 2016
ATP Masters 1000 Rome
C Clay · Semifinals
May 6, 2016
ATP Masters 1000 Madrid
C Clay · Semifinals
Apr 3, 2016
ATP Masters 1000 Miami
H Hard · Final
Jan 22, 2016
Australian Open
H Hard · Quarterfinals
Nov 7, 2015
ATP Finals
H Hard · Round Robin
May 12, 2015
ATP Masters 1000 Rome
C Clay · Quarterfinals
Prop Research
Hit rates on common betting markets · Last 90 days
| Outcome | Nishikori | Djokovic | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Outcome | Kei Nishikori | Novak Djokovic | ||
| 1 or more | 67% | 4/6 | 88% | 7/8 |
| 3 or more | 33% | 2/6 | 75% | 6/8 |
| 5 or more | 17% | 1/6 | 50% | 4/8 |
| 10 or more | 0% | 0/6 | 25% | 2/8 |
| 15 or more | 0% | 0/6 | 13% | 1/8 |
| 20 or more | 0% | 0/6 | 0% | 0/8 |
Player ROI
Hypothetical if you put 1u on each player to win every one of their matches · Last 90 days
| Metric | Nishikori | Djokovic |
|---|---|---|
| W-L | 4–5 | 5–3 |
| Avg odds | 2.70 | 1.67 |
| ROI % | -15.7% | +17.7% |
| Units P/L | -1.41u | +1.42u |
Small sample: ROI stabilizes with more matches; fewer than 10 in the window is noisy.
Travel
Last 30 days
| Metric | Nishikori | Djokovic |
|---|---|---|
| Countries | 1 | 1 |
| Events | 1 | 2 |
| Matches | 1 | 6 |
| Distance | 0 mi · 0 km | 663 mi · 1,067 km |
| Route | JPN | CHN |
Host country from each tournament in the last 30 days, including the current event even when a player arrived on a bye. Route is the order of countries visited; consecutive stops in the same country are shown once. Distance is the great-circle total between host cities, shown only when every stop in the window is geocoded. A rough fatigue signal, not a headline stat.
Common opponents
Results vs. opponents both players faced · Last 12 months
Djokovic has a higher win rate against shared opponents (100% vs Nishikori's 0%).
| Opponent | Nishikori | Djokovic |
|---|---|---|
| Yibing Wu | L 36 63 16 | W 64 57 64 64 |
Recent Form
Last five matches per player
Frances Tiafoe
Japan Open Tennis Championships - Tokyo · 1st Round
Oct 1
Rei Sakamoto
U.S. Open - New York · 3rd Round Qualifying
Aug 28
Michael Antonius
U.S. Open - New York · 2nd Round Qualifying
Aug 27
Sebastian Ofner
U.S. Open - New York · 1st Round Qualifying
Aug 25
Marco Trungelliti
Cincinnati Open - Cincinnati · 3rd Round Qualifying
Aug 12
Francisco Comesana
Cincinnati Open - Cincinnati · 1st Round Qualifying
Aug 11
Michael Zheng
National Bank Open - Montreal · 3rd Round Qualifying
Aug 1
Rafael Jodar
Citi Open - Washington · 2nd Round
Jul 30
Hubert Hurkacz
Shanghai Rolex Masters - Shanghai · 2nd Round
Oct 9
Alex de Minaur
China Open - Beijing · Final
Oct 6
Daniil Medvedev
China Open - Beijing · Semifinals
Oct 5
Alexander Zverev
China Open - Beijing · Quarterfinals
Oct 4
Bu Yunchaokete
China Open - Beijing · 2nd Round
Oct 2
Nuno Borges
China Open - Beijing · 1st Round
Sep 30
Mariano Navone
U.S. Open - New York · 1st Round
Aug 31
Thiago Agustin Tirante
Cincinnati Open - Cincinnati · 2nd Round
Aug 15
Rivalry momentum
Cumulative head-to-head lead over time
Win rate
Matches, sets and games won · Last 12 months · 21–28 matches
| Metric | Nishikori | Djokovic |
|---|---|---|
| Matches won | 52% | 71% |
| Sets won | 50% | 63% |
| Games won | 50% | 54% |
Record by tier
Head-to-head record by tournament tier
| Stage | Nishikori | Djokovic |
|---|---|---|
| Finals | 0 | 2 |
| Grand Slam | 0 | 5 |
| Other | 0 | 4 |
| ATP Masters 1000 | 0 | 7 |
By surface
Head-to-head record per surface
| Surface | Nishikori | Djokovic |
|---|---|---|
| Hard | 0 | 9 |
| Clay | 0 | 6 |
| Grass | 0 | 1 |
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