Roger Federer SNUBS Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal with Kei Nishikori claim
ROGER FEDERER has apparently snubbed Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal by naming Kei Nishikori as having the best backhand in tennis, according to Eurosport pundit Pat Cash.
Australian Open: Djokovic wishes Nishikori a 'speedy recovery'
Cash told an interesting tale about when his friend asked Federer who had the strongest backhand.
And the Swiss star surprisingly went for world No 9 Nishikori.
Djokovic takes on Nishikori in the Australian Open quarter-finals this morning.
And the world No 1 has been warned to watch out for the dangerous Japanese star when he is put on his supposed ‘weaker’ side.
“A good friend of mine asked Roger Federer who has the best backhand in the game – is it Novak? Or Nadal?,” Cash told Eurosport.
“And he said Nishikori.
“I’m looking forward to this one.
“They are two of the speed kings around the court – they are so fast.
Australian Open: Djokovic looks ahead to ‘tough game’ with Kei
“They are very consistent and have had great history together as well.
“The question for me is that one seems to be reasonably fresh and the other is running on fumes.
“Nishikori just keeps going – he’s incredible.”
Meanwhile, former British No 1 Annabel Croft gives Nishikori a chance of causing an upset to meet Lucas Pouille in the semi-finals.
“At the start of the tournament we felt Novak was hitting the ball perfectly, he was the form player and people thought he would be the one to beat here,” she added.
“But there have been a few question marks, dropping a couple of sets along the way.
“The lapses of concentration, the unbalanced play we sometimes see from Novak Djokovic – he’s always got it back on track pretty quickly and he’s not going to want to let this one go lightly against Kei Nishikori who he has a great record against generally.
“Kei Nishikori must be a little fatigued but he is a fighter. I think we’ll be seeing two of the best backhands going up against each other.”
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