THE FACTS
When is Ilya Ivashka vs Kei Nishikori taking place? Ilya Ivashka vs Kei Nishikori will take place on Wednesday 28th July, 2021 at (not before) 04:30 (UK)
Where is Ilya Ivashka vs Kei Nishikori taking place? Ilya Ivashka vs Kei Nishikori will take place at Ariake Tennis Park in Tokyo
What surface is Ilya Ivashka vs Kei Nishikori played on? Ilya Ivashka vs Kei Nishikori will be played on hard courts
Where can I get tickets for Ilya Ivashka vs Kei Nishikori? There are no tickets for Ilya Ivashka vs Kei Nishikori as Olympic Tennis will take place without spectators.
What TV channel is Ilya Ivashka vs Kei Nishikori on in the UK? Olympic coverage is shared between BBC and Eurosport so it is worth checking their schedules for Ilya Ivashka vs Kei Nishikori
Where can I stream Ilya Ivashka vs Kei Nishikori in the UK? If Ilya Ivashka vs Kei Nishikori is televised on BBC then it can be streamed live on the BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website & app. If Ilya Ivashka vs Kei Nishikori is televised on Eurosport then subscribers can stream the match live on Eurosport Player
THE PREDICTION
Japan’s last remaining tennis hopeful Kei Nishikori took the long way around to beat America’s Marcos Giron on Tuesday but he took the deciding set comfortably to reach the round of 16. The 31-year-old has a huge opportunity at reaching the quarter-finals here but must not underestimate world number 66 Ilya Ivashka, who beat Gael Monfils and Mikhail Kukushkin to reach this stage. The 27-year-old is through to his second-successive round of 16 stage after a stand-out debut performance at Wimbledon earlier this month and he looked a dark horse for a deep run coming into Tokyo 2020.
This first meeting is a bit of a head-scratcher with former world number four Nishikori the favourite to come through with all the experience that has won him 12 ATP titles. However, Ivashka has beaten the likes of Alexander Zverev this year and if he can take Nishikori to a tiebreak he could be favoured in the deciding moments on serve. Nishikori should be the outright winner here but cautiously as the Belarusian is well capable of taking this to three.