Novak Djokovic vs. Kei Nishikori: Score, Reaction from Rogers Cup 2016 Final

Novak Djokovic's domination of Kei Nishikori continued on Sunday at the Rogers Cup, as the world's top-ranked player knocked off the tournament's No. 3 seed 6-3, 7-5. 

This marked an excellent return to form for Djokovic, who was playing in his first tournament since losing to Sam Querrey in the third round at Wimbledon. He's been phenomenal all year, despite that one hiccup, with seven titles after defeating Nishikori.

Djokvoic had gone through a long dry spell in the Toronto-based event. This is his first Rogers Cup championship since he knocked off Richard Gasquet in 2012. 

Per Tennis Now, Djokovic's win extends his record-breaking number of career Masters 1000 titles:

The rivalry between Djokovic and Nishikori has been lopsided essentially for as long as they have played head-to-head but especially since November 2014. Djokovic has won the last nine matchups the two have played against each other. 

Djokovic's serve was his best asset in this match, though there wasn't a lot that went wrong for the 29-year-old. He lost just six points while on serve in a decisive 6-3 first-set win. 

In particular, Djokovic was on fire with his first serve. He had a 76 percent success rate on first serves and won 82 percent of those first serves. 

There was never a moment at which Nishikori looked like he was operating on the same level as Djokovic, and ESPN.com's Howard Bryant noted when Djokovic won a break point to take a 2-1 lead in the second set, he was "too much" for the Japanese star.

This has not been a typical tournament for Djokovic, who has looked sloppy at various points. His serve was not working against Gael Monfils in the semifinals—he made five double-faults and won nine of his 19 second-serve points—but he made up for it with six of seven break points saved. 

Sunday was exactly the kind of match Djokovic needed, with journalist Carole Bouchard highlighting Nishikori's problems:

Even though Nishikori's backhand wasn't working, he had some success on serve. He finished with four aces and even took a 4-3 lead in the second set after winning three straight games. 

Things remained tense in the second set after the two stars were deadlocked 5-5, with Nishikori on the serve. Djokovic was able to get the break again to take a 6-5 advantage and serve for the championship. 

Djokovic and Nishikori traded points before Djoker took the advantage. Nishikori hit Djokovic's next serve off the court to secure the win for the world's best player. 

The Rogers Cup tweeted out that final serve by Djokovic:

The win for Djokovic also serves another purpose: His confidence is back as he prepares to play in the Olympics starting next week. He's been the best tennis player in the world for years, yet the Serb doesn't have a gold medal to show for it after settling for a bronze eight years ago in Beijing. 

Andy Murray is the reigning gold-medal winner in men's singles at the Olympics. Murray is also coming off a win at Wimbledon, setting up a potentially huge showdown in Rio if Djokovic can take the lessons he learned in Toronto with him to the Olympics. 

Post-Match Reaction

After his loss, Nishikori tried to remain upbeat about his performance against Djokovic and during the week in Toronto. 

"Today I think he raised his level a lot," Nishikori said, per the Rogers Cup Toronto on Twitter. "He didn't give me any free points. I think this was a great week even though I lost to Novak. I hope I can get a Masters title soon."

Djokovic took a different approach than he normally does after winning. He was complimentary of Nishikori's performance before talking about a bet he made with a friend of his prior to the tournament that led to his win, per the Rogers Cup Toronto on Twitter:

There are a lot of reasons for Djokovic to be happy and hugging people right now.