Frances Tiafoe (7) vs Brandon Nakahima
Seventh seed Frances Tiafoe has enjoyed a wonderful end to the season that has helped propel him back to a respectable 16th in the world rankings.
The ultra-athletic Tiafoe had a poor first half of the season that saw him plummet in the rankings.
But Tiafoe still managed to pick up some encouraging results in his home country, reaching the semifinals in Delray Beach and the final in Houston.
But the onset of the North American hardcourt season triggered something in Tiafoe.
He reached the semifinals in Washington before a rousing runner-up run in Cincinnati.
He then produced his greatest outing of the campaign, reaching a second career semifinal at the US Open (where he squandered a two-sets-to one lead against Fritz).
Tiafoe recently beat Medvedev in the Laver Cup and will feel confident of another strong week.
He will be desperate for a positive end to the season as he looks to crawl his way back into the top ten in the world rankings.
Brandon Nakashima is set to have a busy week. The American is scheduled to play Marin Cilic in today’s Hangzhou Open semifinals.
But a hectic schedule shouldn’t deter the indefatigable American baseliner.
This has turned into a bit of a breakthrough season for the American and he will be arriving in Japan in excellent form, regardless of what happens against Cilic in Hangzhou.
The 2022 San Diego champion struggled last year but has really come alive since the middle of this year’s campaign.
He reached the semifinals in Stuttgart and would go on to reach the third round at Wimbledon.
He produced back-to-back Masters 1000 round of 16 finishes in Montreal and Cincinnati, beating the likes of Tommy Paul and Taylor Fritz in the process.
He then produced some excellent tennis in New York, going out to Alex Zverev in four sets in the fourth round of the US Open.
He recently broke into the top 40 for the first time in his career and will present a formidable challenge to the mercurial Tiafoe.
The Verdict: Nakashima to win in three at – Tiafoe has dominated this head-to-head rivalry, bringing a sparkling 4-0 record into this meeting.
They last met in 2022, and Nakashima has pushed him to three sets in two of their encounters.
I really think that Nakashima has a chance of creating an upset here. His footwork and movement are elite and he will force Tiafoe into plenty of extended rallies. Tiafoe can grow impatient and tends to leak unforced errors when coming up against grinders like Nakashima.