Vienna (AFP) – Kei Nishikori defeated Mikhail Kukushkin on Saturday to book his place in the Vienna final and improve his prospects of becoming the eighth and final qualifier at the ATP Finals in London.
The Japanese fifth seed saw off Kazakh qualifier Kukushkin 6-4, 6-3 to set up a meeting with Kevin Anderson who won his semi-final against Fernando Verdasco 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.
If Nishikori goes on to win his first title since 2016 then he will improve to within 125 points of the eighth and final berth in the ATP’s Race to London, with next week’s Paris Masters to come.
But first he must overcome Anderson, the 32-year-old Wimbledon finalist who took almost two-and-a-half hours to battle past Verdasco.
If Anderson beats Nishikori he will guarantee his presence in London as the sixth qualifier.