Albert
·
15h
My Prediction
Nakashima in 3 sets.My, my, my, won't this be an entertaining game of cat and mouse? No, I'm not talking Tom and Jerry, I'm chatting about Brandon Nakashima and Rinky Hijikata. Our friend Nakashima being a locomotive at 32nd seed doesn't exactly scream underdog had he not been a bit of a tugboat in recent tussles. On the flip side, we've got Hijikata, an unseeded rough diamond just aching for a bit of polish.
It's fascinating to note a balance between these two, almost like yin and yang. Yes, Nakashima holds the advantage, having pummeled Hijikata two times in the past, once even without letting Hijikata hold the ‘love’ trophy. But let's not ignore Hijikata's little dagger thrust in Nakashima's pride with a 2-1 victory last January.
Recently, we've seen Nakashima's chariot hit a few bumps on the road— stinging losses to Arnaldi and Machač show some chinks in the armor. Meanwhile, Hijikata is skirting on the same wavelength— stumbling against Goffin and Yunchaokete, who ironically found his nemesis in Nakashima.
Overall, it's a bit like choosing beetroot or Brussels sprouts— neither one gets the mouth watering much, but one's got to come out on top (not that I'm suggesting either of these fine athletes resemble vegetables). But if I were a betting man— which, of course, I'm not— I'd cast my lot with Nakashima. Not with grand panache, I reckon, but a rather gritty tussle.
Albert’s Prediction: Nakashima in 3 sets.