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Local favourite Yoshihito Nishioka fought his way back Felix Auger-Aliassime in the first round and now he faces an even stiffer test in Dane Holger Rune
RANKING POINTS: ATP 500
START DATE/TIME: Saturday 28th September, 2024, UK – not before 10:00am / US ET – not before 5:00am / US PT – not before 2:00am
VENUE: Ariake Coliseum, Tokyo, Japan
SURFACE: Outdoor hard
HOW TO WATCH ON TV: UK – Sky Sports Tennis / US – Tennis Channel
HOW TO WATCH ONLINE: UK – Sky Go / US – Tennis Channel
TICKETS: Visit this link for the latest Yoshihito Nishioka vs Holger Rune ticket information
YOSHIHITO NISHIOKA VS HOLGER RUNE PREDICTION
Yoshihito Nishioka gets the prime-time spot on Saturday night as he faces Denmark's Holger Rune. He came through a tough first-round match against Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime and the local favourite will be fired up for another tough test.
He has faced Holger Rune twice before with both players having won one match apiece. It was Rune who won the last meeting at the Australian Open at the start of 2024 in four sets, but Nishioka beat him the previous year in Adelaide.
Rune did very well in the first round to beat Chilean Alejandro Tabilo over three sets. The number six seed had been in poor form prior to that win and he remains pretty inconsistent between tournaments. Much will depend on which version of Rune shows up for this match.
There is no doubting Nishioka’s motivation coming into this round of 16 match. He may be the unseeded player but motivation is firmly on his side. Based on Rune’s recent performances, it is hard to have much confidence in the Dane. With that in mind, our preferences with Nishioka to win in this crunch primetime match.
YOSHIHITO NISHIOKA VS HOLGER RUNE TIP: YOSHIHITO NISHIOKA TO WIN