TennisSection previews the 2021 Hall of Fame Open as Yoshihito Nishioka (3) takes on Jack Sock in the Round of 16 on Wednesday, July 14th, 2021.
Will Jack Sock cause the upset and make it through? Will Yoshihito Nishioka show why he’s the number three seed here and move on? Wednesday’s contest will be a good one, as I don’t think it will be so one-sided as it seemingly could be on paper. Who will move on to the quarterfinals at the 2021 Hall of Fame Open?
Yoshihito Nishioka comes into this tournament with less confidence than he would like, having been absolutely hammered by Bedene in his second round match at Wimbledon. While I do expect him to win this match, I don’t think it will be extremely straightforward, he will need to try and close in on any opportunities he gets, as I think he will get plenty. I expect him to be able to out-grind Sock as that’s typically his playstyle, kind of like Diego Shwartzman. I don’t think he’ll have too much trouble on serve, though due to his previous results on grass, it is definitely a possibility that he could go out tomorrow.
Jack Sock came through in 3 sets over Australia’s Alex Bolt. His game looked a little rusty, but he did a nice job overall all things considered to book a place in the Round of 16 here at the 2021 Hall of Fame Open. In order to trouble Nishioka, he will need to play aggressive, I see Sock having the kind of game where he could really trouble him, but due to his age and his dwindling level, it will most certainly be a tough task considering his opponent is young, fit and plays a kind of game which will not necessarily adhere to Sock’s current physical state. In my eyes, I only see him coming through if he can take care of his serve and try to be super aggressive in potential tiebreaks or any opportunities that come his way.
Yoshihito Nishioka and Jack Sock have played each other two times before, with the head to head being tied at 1-1. Both their meetings came in 2017, with Nishioka taking the first one and losing the second one in a pretty quick match, as he retired from it whilst being 4-2 up in the first set. These numbers don’t really give us an indicator to help us figure out who will win tomorrow, but 2017 was Jack Sock’s best singles season ever, and while it did start blooming late that year, it still shows that Nishioka should feel relatively confident going into tomorrows match. Although I do predict a little trouble, and maybe his home crowd will get him fired up, Yoshihito should get a nice win under his belt to kick off his campaign here at the 2021 Hall of Fame Open.
Free Tennis Pick and Prediction: Yoshihito Nishioka to win in three sets.
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