Citi Open 2022: Andrey Rublev vs Yoshihito Nishioka preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Andrey Rublev vs Yoshihito Nishioka
Date: 6 August, 2022.
Tournament: Citi Open 2022.
Round: Semifinals.
Venue: Washington, D.C., United States.
Category: ATP 500.
Surface: Hard.
Prize money: $708,530.
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | Australia - beIN Sports.
Andrey Rublev vs Yoshihito Nishioka preview
Top seed Andrey Rublev will face Yoshihito Nishioka in the semifinals of the Citi Open on Saturday. The Russian has won 35 out of 46 matches so far this season, with three titles to his name.
Rublev won the Open 13 in Marseille by beating Felix Auger-Aliassime in the final before triumphing at the Dubai Tennis Championships, defeating Jiri Vesely in the title clash. The Russian's third title of the season came at the Serbia Open, where he beat Novak Djokovic in the final.
Rublev was the top seed at the Citi Open and beat Jack Draper 6-4, 6-2 in the first round. He then triumphed 6-4, 7-6(8) over Maxime Cressy to seal his place in the quarterfinals. Here, the 24-year-old defeated J.J Wolf 6-2, 6-3 to reach the semifinals of the tournament.
Andrey Rublev beat JJ Wolf 6-2 6-3 to advance to the #CitiOpen semi-finals
Yoshihito Nishioka has won only nine out of 19 matches so far this season, with his best performance coming at the Citi Open.
The Japanese player started the tournament by beating Jenson Brooksby 6-4, 6-3 in the first round and followed it up with a 3-6, 7-6(8), 6-2 win over 11th seed Alex de Minaur, saving a match point.
Nishioka then beat seventh seed Karen Khachanov 7-6(2), 7-6(1) before eliminating 16th seed Dan Evans to seal his place in the semifinals.
EMOTIONS 
🙌 EMOTIONS 😊
@yoshihitotennis fights back from a break down in the final set to defeat Evans 7-6 4-6 7-5 in 3hr30min to reach the semi-finals!
@CitiOpen https://t.co/O4bo3dnDa7
Andrey Rublev vs Yoshihito Nishioka head-to-head
The head-to-head between the two players is currently 1-1 and they will meet for the third time on Saturday. Nishioka beat Rublev 6-3, 6-1 in their first encounter, which came at the Sydney International in 2019.
The Russian won 6-1, 6-3 in their second meeting, which came at the ATP Cup last year.
Andrey Rublev vs Yoshihito Nishioka odds
(All odds sourced from oddschecker).
Andrey Rublev vs Yoshihito Nishioka prediction
Rublev will enter the match as the heavy favorite to win, but Nishioka cannot be written off since he has beaten some higher-ranked players in Washington DC. While defeating the Russian will be a daunting task, his morale will be high with his recent wins.
Rublev will look to go for the jugular from the beginning and put pressure on his opoonent. While the Russian's forehand is his key weapon, he has a pretty strong serve as well and he has served 26 aces so far at the Citi Open.
Rublev will need to make sure not to hit too many unforced errors during the match. Nishioka is not the most powerful hitter out there and he will look to wear Rublev out and force errors out of him. The 26-year-old will have to be as composed as he can if he is to script another upset in Washington.
While Nishioka has done quite well so far, Rublev has looked formidable and should be able to get the better of him and reach his fourth final of 2022.
Pick: Rublev to win in straight sets.