Karatsev started the tournament against Matteo Arnaldi and won a close match with a score of 6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 6-2. He then faced Andy Murray in the round of 16 and returned to the game after losing the first set, this time winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, allowing Aslan to advance to the quarter-finals.
In the quarterfinals, the Russian met second seed Cameron Norrie. The first set was tense, with neither player managing to break the other’s serve. As a result, the set went to a tiebreaker and Karatsev won it with a score of 7-5.
Norrie started the second set well and got the first break of the match. However, Karatsev took the Briton’s serve for the set at 4-5 and leveled the match. Another tie-break followed and the Russian won again with a score of 7:5, securing his place in the semi-finals of the Zhuhai tournament.
Meanwhile, Nishioka started the ATP 250 tournament against Terence Atmane and returned to action after a terrible set, where he failed to win even a single match – 0-6, 6-4 , 6-2. He then beat Lloyd Harris 7-6 (4), 7-6 (5) to secure his place in the quarter-finals.
The Japanese then faced third seed Jan-Lennard Struff and scored the first break of the match in the third game. This break proved decisive as he won the set 6-4 and took the lead in the match.
Nishioka took the lead in the second set and served for the match at 5-4, but Struff managed to come back. However, the Japanese restored their one-break lead in the next game before holding serve to win 7-5 and reach the semi-finals in Zhuhai.
Nishioka currently leads 1-0 in head-to-head matches against Karatsev, having already won 6-3, 6-4 in the first round of the 2022 Paris Masters.
Both players seem evenly matched given their performances this season, so this match promises to be interesting.
Karatsev’s first serve in Zhuhai has been very effective so far. He served 35 aces and scored 131 of 163 points (80.3%). The Russian also has 98 winning shots with 41 unforced errors. He will look to attack from the start of the match and score as many points as possible on his first serve.
However, Karatsev’s punches, while powerful, tend to fly wide, and he will need to be careful not to make too many of these mistakes against Nishioka.
The Japanese has put up decent numbers on his first serve so far, winning 108 out of 145 points (74.5%) with three aces to his name. He had 58 winners, far exceeding his 22 unforced errors.
Nishioka’s speed and endurance will come in handy if he wants to deal with Karatsev’s aggression. If Nishioka can maintain his composure throughout the match, he has a good chance of winning, but Karatsev also has a chance to win.
Forecast: Yoshihito Nishioka will win in three sets.
Source: Sport
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