Kei Nishikori vs. Andrey Rublev: The Russian will win in three sets

In the 1st round of the Tennis tournament at the 2020 Olympics, the 69th ranked tennis player Kei Nishikori will meet Andrey Rublev ranked No. 7. The players had a chance to compete once in August 2018 in Cincinnati, where the Japanese won, and now the Russian has an opportunity to take revenge. The draw didn’t do Rublev good. After all, the first round could have started with an easier opponent.  

After Roland Garros, Kei Nishikori had two tournaments on the grass court. First, the Japanese played two matches in Halle, Germany. Then played two games at Wimbledon. In London, Kei defeated Popyrin 3-0 and lost 1-3 to Thomposon. The Japanese tennis player prefers a hard court over the grass one. The most important thing is that Nishikori will play in his homeland and will do his best to climb up to the top.

Andrey Rublev was not very lucky with the bracket at the Olympics. Not only did he have to play against Kei Nishikori in the first round, but he is also likely to play against Novak Djokovic, ranked No. 1, in the quarter-finals - if he manages to get to that stage, of course. On the other side, Rublev is in perfect shape, having played on the grass courts of Halle and Wimbledon, like Kei Nishikori. Only the Russian scored five more points. Andrey got to the finals in Germany, only to lose to Humbert. At Wimbledon, he reached the fourth round and suffered a tough loss to Fucsovics, the player he had beaten three times at different tournaments at the beginning of the season.

The Japanese has already beaten the Russian once. It happened three years ago, though. Besides, keep in mind that the Olympics are held in Japan, and Kei is not planning to lose in the first round. A showdown is expected to take place, and we hope for Rublev to win. 

Out betting predictions are: W2+TO (2.5) in sets for 3.68, TO (22) for 2.03.