2021 ATP Cup Group D – Andrey Rublev vs Yoshihito Nishioka Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
Where is Andrey Rublev vs Yoshihito Nishioka taking place? Melbourne Park, Melbourne, Australia
When is Andrey Rublev vs Yoshihito Nishioka on and what time does it start? Wednesday 3rd February, 2021 – Not before 06:30 (UK)
Where can I get tickets for Andrey Rublev vs Yoshihito Nishioka? Visit this link for ticket information
What channel is Andrey Rublev vs Yoshihito Nishioka on? This match will not be televised live in the UK
Where can I stream Andrey Rublev vs Yoshihito Nishioka in the UK? Amazon Prime Video subscribers can stream the match live
THE LOWDOWN
ANDREY RUBLEV
- World number eight Andrey Rublev is clearly one to watch again this season after he completely outplayed a good player in Guido Pella to make it 1-0 to Team Russia.
- Rublev was the most successful player on tour last year in terms of titles and matches won and alongside Daniil Medvedev Team Russia are the only team with two top 10 players.
YOSHIHITO NISHIOKA
- Yoshihito Nishioka won two of his three singles matches as the first option for Japan at last year’s inaugural ATP Cup, beating Pablo Cuevas and Nikoloz Basilashvili before losing to Rafael Nadal in a well-contested match.
- The world number 57 reached a career-high 48th in February last year following some great early-season form that saw him almost win his first ATP title as runner-up at the Delray Beach Open.
THE PREDICTION
This looks like a really enjoyable match-up between the sheer will of in-form world-beating Andrey Rublev and a tricky, exciting left-handed speedster in Yoshihito Nishioka. The 25-year-old Japanese second option thrived last year as the jewel in Team Japan’s crown and gave Rafael Nadal a real game of it before losing in straight-sets. Nishioka is a lot of fun to watch and can frustrate plenty of the best players on tour, though Andrey Rublev seems to start his matches at the height of torment and uses that to totally destroy almost all before him. He tailed-off at the ATP Finals last November in a fairly common pattern for debutants but he looked frighteningly good against Guido Pella and should come through his second ATP Cup group stage match in straight-sets too.
