Citi Open 2022: Karen Khachanov vs Yoshihito Nishioka preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (7) Karen Khachanov vs Yoshihito Nishioka
Tournament: Citi Open
Date: August 4, 2022
Round: Third round (Round of 16)
Venue: Washington D.C., United States
Category: ATP 500
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $1,953,285
Match timing: 12 noon local time, 4 pm GMT and 9:30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Karen Khachanov vs Yoshihito Nishioka preview
Seventh seed Karen Khachanov will take on World No. 96 Yoshihito Nishioka in the third round of the 2022 Citi Open on Thursday.
After a first-round bye, Khachanov was up against Dominik Koepfer in the second round. The Russian was the first to lose serve in the opening set, but broke back immediately to level the score. He went down a break once again, but didn't stay on the backfoot for too long. The 26-year-old Russian fell behind in the ensuing tiebreak as well, but wasn't able to overcome the deficit this time as he lost the first set.
Khachanov built up a 3-1 lead in the second set, but Koepfer fought back to negate that advantage. The Russian snagged a break in the 11th game of the set and then clinched the set by serving it out in the following game.
Khachanov jumped to a 3-1 lead in the deciding set as well. Koepfer saved a match point while serving at 5-3 in a valiant effort. However, the 26-year old then served out the match with ease to win 6-7 (3), 7-5, 6-4.
Digging deep under the lights 💪
No. 7 seed @karenkhachanov scores a 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-4 comeback over Koepfer to reach the third round!
#CitiOpen
https://t.co/dTVtwgJ8W3
Following a first-round victory over Jenson Brooksby, Yoshihito Nishioka set up a second-round showdown with Alex de Minaur. The Australian won the Atlanta Open over the past weekend and was in great form.
A solitary break of serve was enough for de Minaur to bag the opening set. Nishioka went up a break to lead 3-1 in the second set. However, the Australian won the next four games in a row to lead 5-3. The 23-year old then lost serve while trying to close out the proceedings.
The set eventually went to a tiebreak, in which de Minaur held a match point as well. However, Nishioka held his nerve as he came out on top to win the tiebreak and take the match to a decider. The Japanese player got to a 3-0 lead in the third set, but de Minaur managed to retrieve one of the breaks of serve to make it 3-1.
Nishioka won the next two games to go 5-1 up and soon served out the match to win 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-2.
Karen Khachanov vs Yoshihito Nishioka head-to-head
Khachanov leads Nishioka 2-0 in the head-to-head. He won their previous encounter at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in three sets.
Karen Khachanov vs Yoshihito Nishioka odds
All odds are sourced from BetMGM.
Karen Khachanov vs Yoshihito Nishioka prediction
Nishioka has been in good form and took out a couple of in-form players to reach the third round. While de Mianur won the title in Atlanta, Brooksby was the runner-up. The Japanese showed nerves of steel to stage a comeback in the second round from a match point down.
Khachanov was also tested in the second round by Koepfer, but prevailed in three sets. The Russian's massive serve and powerful groundstrokes gives him a significant advantage over his next opponent. He hit nine aces and won 75% of his first serve points in the second round.
Nishioka is unable to get that many free points on his serve and doesn't possess the raw power to outhit his opponents. However, he does a great job of absorbing pace and moving his opponents from side-to-side. The Japanese will be feeling confident after knocking out a couple of higher-ranked players, and will look to continue his giant-killing spree.
Khachanov didn't look that imposing in the second round, but should be able to survive a tough test from Nishioka in the end.
Pick: Karen Khachanov to win in three sets.