Kei Nishikori vs. Andrey Rublev 7/24/21 - Olympic Tournament Men Singles Picks & Predictions
Last Updated: 07/24/2021 at 12:52 AM ET
Japanese tennis superstar Kei Nishikori is set to start his 2021 Olympics campaign against Andrey Rublev from Russia.
This is a massive tournament for Kei Nishikori as he is playing on home soil and will be wishing to make a huge impact on this tournament. It is fair to say that Nishikori is past his peak and it has been a tough few months for the Japanese superstar. Kei Nishikori failed at Wimbledon and the Japanese superstar has failed to make it into the quarterfinals of a tournament since ATP Dubai which took place in March. There will be huge expectations on Kei Nishikori but he has a tough start to the tournament as he is playing against an elite player in Andrey Rublev.
Looking at Andrey Rublev, the Russian superstar has managed to establish himself as an elite player over the past few years. It has been a strong few months for Andrey Rublev as he made a deep run at Wimbledon while making the final at ATP Halle in Germany prior to that. 2021 has been a big season for Andrey Rublev as the Russian superstar has managed to challenge for the big titles and that has also resulted in him climbing up the rankings. As it currently stands, Andrey Rublev is number 7 in the world. The Olympics are a big tournament and Rublev will be feeling that he is well placed to challenge for the title.
Andrey Rublev and Kei Nishikori have played each other once in the past with Kei Nishikori winning that match. The match was played in 2018 at the Cincinnati Masters where Nishikori won in straight sets.
Taking everything into consideration, I am going to pick Andrey Rublev to win this match. Kei Nishikori is past his peak and I don't see the Japanese superstar having what it takes to compete with the elite players on the tour. Andrey Rublev is an elite player and I see him being good enough to win this match in straight sets.
