Tennis Prediction Kei Nishikori vs Marco Trungelliti: Cincinnati

🇺🇸 #Cincinnati (Q)

🇯🇵 **Nishikori ML · 1.72 | 0.65u*

• Two 36-year-old men are taking the court tonight, and they both come from the exact same day: a three-set victory yesterday, 33 games for the Argentinian, 29 for the Japanese, and 16 hours of recovery before doing it again.

• At that age, that detail is often worth more than a ranking.

• What really separates them is the surface. Marco Trungelliti is a clay court player: 21 wins for 13 losses on the dirt this season, and only 3 for 6 on hard courts.

• He came here looking for something that his game doesn't naturally give him.

• Kei Nishikori, on the other hand, has spent an entire career playing his best tennis on this surface.

• And despite everything that can be said about his current ranking, he still found a way to win 7-5 in the decisive set last night.

• Caution is still needed, however, as the Japanese is ranked 467th in the world, has a 7-7 record on the season, and was beaten 6-3 6-1 by Michael Zheng 11 days ago in Montreal.

• This is not a former champion returning to the top, this is a player rebuilding himself match after match.

• What I'm playing is one thing: a clay court player put on a fast court, against a man who has built his entire career on it. 0.65u, no more, and with eyes wide open.