TennisSection previews the 2021 Rotterdam Open as Kei Nishikori meets Borna Coric in the quarter-finals on Friday, March 5th 2021.
Will Kei Nishikori continue to perform superbly here in Rotterdam, at levels which we have not seen from him in a very long time? Or will Borna Coric come in here and also show us he is aiming to get his career back on track? Both players have showed some great tennis here in Rotterdam, but only one can come through. Who out of these two comeback sensations will be able to book their spot in the semi-finals of the 2021 Rotterdam Open on Friday?
Kei Nishikori has put on great peformances here, which many did not expect him to. Beating the likes of Felix Auger Aliassime and Alex de Minaur, both favourites in the matches, Nishikori has impressed the tennis world. In his second round match against Alex de Minaur, Nishikori was tested and pushed to the limit. Coming through in 3 tight sets, 6-3/2-6/7-5, Nishikori showed us that when he is in form, the tennis world sees some amazing matches. Nishikori is looking for 2021 to be his comeback season, and if he continues to play like this, and improves in every match, there is no way you can deny that Nishikori can reach his once great level which saw him win the 2016 Olympic Bronze Medal. Can Nishikori now give himself more confidence in his game by booking his spot in the semi-finals here in Rotterdam by beating Borna Coric on Friday?
Borna Coric put on a great performance in the second round, beating the in-form Dusan Lajovic. Coric won in straight sets 6-3/6-2 and he will now look to make yet another semi-final of an ATP 500 tournament. Coric is on the comeback after suffering from injuries throughout some of 2018 and 2019. When he came back to the tour in 2020, Coric impressed, reaching the quarter-finals of the US Open, and even making the Final of the ATP 500 St. Petersburg Open. Coric, when in form, can compete with the best in the world. Borna is going to impress a lot of people this year, and can he get this great season started here at the Rotterdam Open by making the semi-finals? He will have to come through a very tough opponent who he has lost to before in Kei Nishikori if he is to do it.
This is going to be the second meeting between Kei Nishikori and Borna Coric, with Kei Nishikori leading the head-to-head 1-0. They met at the 2015 Tokyo ATP 500 in the first round where Nishikori won in 3 sets, 2-6/6-2/6-2. Since then, their careers both peaked, and then fell down due to injury issues. Now both players are on the comeback trail and are aiming to make the same impression in the tennis world as they once had done. This is definitely going to be a tight match as both players are great ralliers and focus more on their return game than their serving game. However, there can only be one winner. When comparing these two, Kei Nishikori’s career has definitely impressed more than Borna Coric, however, Borna Coric is much younger and has more power than Nishikori at the moment.
Both players can win this match if they are playing their best tennis on the day, however, I believe that Borna Coric showed us a lot more promise in his second round victory over Dusan Lajovic on Thursday.
Free Tennis Preview and Prediction: Borna Coric to win.
