Janko Tipsarevic is in for an exciting tussle in the Malaysian Open semi-finals against Kei Nishikori in Kuala Lumpur.
Tipsarevic had the easiest of paths into the final when Nikolay Davydenko retired trailing 3-1 in their quarter-final. Davydenko was experiencing pain shooting through his left hip and limped off court a concerned man.
Nishikori had to work for his place in the last four but the Japanese star will have been delighted with his 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4 win over top seed Nicolas Almagro, dealing the Spaniard's hopes of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals another blow.
Nishikori has already reached a final in 2011, finishing runner-up in Houston in April but he faces an uphill battle on Saturday as Tipsarevic has a serious psychological advantage going into this one.
Tipsarevic will be eyeing a possible all-Serbian final with close friend Viktor Troicki and he's already beaten Nishikori four times in 2011. The closest it's been was 2-6, 6-2, 7-6(0) on the clay of Belgrade in May but the other three matches have all been pretty routine straight sets wins.
Prediction: Tipsarevic in two.
