The four quarterfinal matches at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo are now set, and of the four is one very appealing final eight matchup. In order for Novak Djokovic of Serbia to win the golden slam in 2021, he will need to get by one of Japan’s tennis star, Kei Nishikori.
Head-to-head, Djokovic has a dominant 16-2 advantage. The task for Nishikori is obviously going to be extremely difficult. However, there are some things that Nishikori has going for him. One, he has already beaten Djokovic at a major tennis tournament. At the 2014 United States Open, Nishikori beat Djokovic in the semifinal, 6-4, 1-6, 7-6, 6-3. Two, Nishikori is coming into his match with Djokovic with momentum. He has already beaten the fifth seed, Andrey Rublev of Russia, in the first round, in what could be considered a minor upset.
The other three quarterfinal matches have Alexander Zverev of Germany versus Jeremy Chardy of France, Karen Khachanov of the Russian Olympic Committee versus Ugo Humbert of France, and Daniil Medvedev of the Russian Olympic Committee versus Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain. Like the Djokovic-Nishikori match, the Medvedev-Carreno Busta match has two players who have each reached a grand slam semifinal. Medvedev reached the 2019 United States Open Final (lost to Rafael Nadal of Spain) and the 2021 Australian Open Final (lost to Djokovic). Carreno Busta meanwhile has reached two U.S. Open semifinals in 2017 and 2020, where he lost to Kevin Anderson of South Africa and Zverev respectively.
The women’s semifinals are also set. Belinda Bencic of Switzerland, the 2019 United States Open finalist is up against Elena Rybakina of the Russian Olympic Committee, and Elina Svitolina of the Ukraine, the 2019 Wimbledon and United States Open semifinalist, will play Marketa Vondrousova of the Czech Republic, the 2019 French Open finalist.
