LONDON, November 20, 2016

Kei Nishikori has closed the 2016 season by losing the semis at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London to Novak Djokovic. The 26-year-old Japanese advanced to the stage of the final four at The O2 for the second time in three years and can be pleased with a decent tennis year, finishing in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings for the third straight year. Nishikori also captured his fourth title at the ATP 250 event in Memphis in February.

“I think it was one of the best years for me. I played a lot of matches, beating those top players this year a lot. I gained a lot of confidence. Maybe this is not the finish what I wanted to finish, but still I think it was a good year,” Nishikori told on Saturday evening in London.

He put together a career-best 20-7 match record in ATP Masters 1000 tournaments with four losses coming to Djokovic. The Serbian also had the better ending at the season finale. Nishikori opened his London campaign with a straight sets victory over Stan Wawrinka and followed with a three hours and 20 minutes marathon loss to Andy Murray on Wednesday. On Friday, he lost to Marin Cilic in three sets.

“I think Novak played pretty awesome. Well, nothing I can complain. But I wasn’t ready to play against Novak I think physically. It was a tough rest for me, especially at the night, late. I tried to play good tennis, but I couldn’t today.”

Asked what will be his tip for the final, Nishikori added: “I think physically Novak is fresher. I think it’s going to be a good match.”