Finals losing streaks continue for Nishikori, Goffin

Published by Leigh Rogers

David Goffin and Kei Nishikori have both lost their past six ATP World Tour finals, and more worryingly, many of those losses in title matches have come against lower-ranked players.

Statistics don’t lie – David Goffin and Kei Nishikori are in finals slumps.

As Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Alexandr Dolgopolov swept to drought-breaking ATP World Tour titles in Rotterdam and Buenos Aires respectively, their higher-ranked opponents found themselves in the all-too-familiar situation of accepting the runner-up trophy.

A Rotterdam loss for Goffin marked the Belgian’s sixth successive finals defeat. The 26-year-old now has a 2-6 win-loss record in ATP finals and has not won a title since September 2014.

The runner-up finish still propels Goffin into the world’s top 10 for the first time, a reward for commendable consistency over the past 12 months. Yet whether he can climb higher may depend on whether he can reverse his poor finals record.

Alarmingly, only once in Goffin’s six-match finals losing streak has he been beaten by a higher ranked player – Roger Federer in October 2014.

David Goffin’s most recent final appearances:

Date Tournament Surface Rank vs Rank Result Score
October 2014 Basel Hard 28 2 (1) Roger Federer (SUI) d (7) David Goffin (BEL) 6-2 6-2
June 2015 s-Hertogenbosch Grass 15 97 (Q) Nicolas Mahut (FRA) d (2) David Goffin (BEL) 7-6(1) 6-1
July 2015 Gstaad Clay 14 24 (3) Dominic Thiem (AUT) d (1) David Goffin (BEL) 7-5 6-2
October 2016 Tokyo Hard 14 15 (6) Nick Kyrgios (AUS) d (5) David Goffin (BEL) 4-6 6-3 7-5
February 2017 Sofia Hard 11 13 (3) Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) d (2) David Goffin (BEL) 7-5 6-4
February 2017 Rotterdam Hard 11 14 (6) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (FRA) d (3) David Goffin (BEL) 4-6 6-4 6-1

Japan’s Nishikori is stuck in a similar finals slump.

Although he has an 11-11 career win-loss finals record overall, a straight-sets loss to Dolgopolov in the Argentina Open marked his sixth consecutive runner-up finish.

The world No.5’s losing streak stretches back to March 2016, winning just one set (against Dimitrov in Brisbane in January) during this time.

While three of Nishikori’s losses have been to higher-ranked players, his loss to Dolgopolov was surprising and now extends the 27-year-old’s title drought to over a year.

Kei Nishikori’s most recent final appearances:

Date Tournament Surface Rank vs Rank Result Score
March 2016 Miami Masters Hard 6 1 (1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) d (6) Kei Nishikori (JPN) 6-3 6-3
April 2016 Barcelona Clay 6 5 (1) Rafael Nadal (ESP) d (2) Kei Nishikori (JPN) 6-4 7-5
July 2016 Canada Masters Hard 6 1 (1) Novak Djokovic (SRB) d (3) Kei Nishikori (JPN) 6-3 7-5
October 2016 Basel Hard 5 12 (4) Marin Cilic (CRO) d (3) Kei Nishikori (JPN) 6-1 7-6(5)
January 2017 Brisbane Hard 5 17 (7) Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) d (3) Kei Nishikori (JPN) 6-2 2-6 6-3
February 2017 Buenos Aires Clay 5 66 Alexandr Dolgopolov (UKR) d (1) Kei Nishikori (JPN) 7-6(4) 6-4

Of the current ATP World Tour top 20, only three players have not won a title in the past 12 months. Surprisingly all of them are in the top 10.

Alongside Goffin and Nishikori, world No.4 Milos Raonic also falls into this category; the Canadian has not won a title since January 2016, losing the three finals he has since contested.

Contrastingly, all of the WTA Tour’s current top 10 players have won at least one title in the past 12 months.

Czech Barbora Strycova is the only member of the top 20 with a comparable finals losing streak; the 30-year-old, ranked No.20, has lost her past five finals stretching back to 2012.

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