Zhuhai Championships 2023 Final: Karen Khachanov vs Yoshihito Nishioka preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds and pick
Match Details
Fixture: (1) Karen Khachanov vs (8) Yoshihito Nishioka
Date: September 26, 2023
Match Timing: 7:30 pm local time, 5 pm IST, 11:30 am GMT, 7:30 am ET
Tournament: Zhuhai Championships 2023
Round: Final
Venue: Zhuhai, China
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $981,785
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Tennis TV | Canada - TSN
Karen Khachanov vs Yoshihito Nishioka preview
Top seed Karen Khachanov will take on Yoshihito Nishioka in the Zhuhai Championships final on Tuesday.
The Russian was given a bye to the second round by virtue of being one of the top four seeds. He started the ATP 250 tournament by beating Australian qualifier Alex Bolt to book his place in the quarterfinals. Khachanov then faced sixth seed Mackenzie McDonald and came back from a set down to defeat him 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 and set up a semifinal clash against fourth seed Sebastian Korda.
The opening set was a stiff contest, with both players exchanging breaks in the first six games. Khachanov broke serve for the second time before holding to win 7-5. He cruised to a 3-0 lead in the second set before Korda pulled a break back in the sixth game. Khachanov eventually went on to take the set 6-4 to book his place in the final.
Yoshihito Nishioka, on the other hand, is the eighth seed at the Zhuhai Championships and started by edging out Terence Atmane 0-6, 6-4, 6-2. He then followed it up with a straight-set win over Lloyd Harris (7-6(4), 7-6(5)) to book his place in the quarterfinals.
Here, the Japanese faced third seed Jan-Lennard Struff and triumphed 6-4, 7-5 over him to set up a semifinal clash against Aslan Karatsev. Nishioka made two service breaks in the first set compared to Karatsev's one and won 6-4 to take the lead in the match.
The Russian was eager to bounce back into the match and cruised to a 4-1 lead in the second set. However, Nishioka was not to be denied and he won five consecutive games to take the second set 6-4 and reach his first final of the 2023 season.
Karen Khachanov vs Yoshihito Nishioka head-to-head
Khachanov leads 3-1 in the head-to-head against Nishioka. The last meeting between the two came in the fourth round of this year's Australian Open, with the Russian winning 6-0, 6-0, 7-6(4).
Karen Khachanov vs Yoshihito Nishioka odds
All odds are sourced from BETMGM.
Karen Khachanov vs Yoshihito Nishioka prediction
Khachanov was out of action for a while and that affected his performances early on in his return to action. However, the Russian looks in good nick at the moment and will enter the final as the favorite to win.
Khachanov has looked very strong on his first serve so far in Zhuhai, having served 16 aces and won 102 out of 132 points (77.2%). His second serve, however, has looked a tad shaky on occasion, as evidenced by his 10 double faults. The Russian has hit 66 winners so far compared to 23 unforced errors.
Khachanov's serve has always been a key weapon and he will look to make the most out of it. The Russian plays aggressively and hits very powerful groundstrokes which are also consistent, as seen by his lack of unforced errors.
Nishioka has won 139 out of 193 points so far on his first serve (72.03%) with six aces to his name. He also hit 66 winners, which is sizeably higher by his unforced error tally of 27.
The Japanese will be eager to be dominant on his serve while looking to make the odd decisive break. His agility and on-court movement will come in handy, along with his defensive skills. He could give Khachanov a run for his money if he is able to return well throughout the match.
The Russian has often shown a lot of composure against the best of opponents on numerous occasions in his career. Thus, he should be able to come out on top if he is able to repeat that against Nishioka.
Pick: Khachanov to win in straight sets.