Citi Open 2022: Jenson Brooksby vs. Yoshihito Nishioka Tennis Pick and Prediction

TennisSection previews the 2022 Citi Open as Jenson Brooksby takes on Yoshihito Nishioka in the first round on Tuesday, August 2nd, 2022.

Will Jenson Brooksby get over the disappointment of losing the Atlanta Open final just 48 hours earlier? There will be no room for respite as the American takes on the diminutive Japanese star Yoshihito Nishioka in a potentially trick opener at the Citi Open. Who will prevail?

Jenson Brooksby’s bid for a first ATP title will extend for at least another week after the fast-rising American lost to Alex De Minaur in straight sets in the Atlanta Open final. Brooksby was made to pay for his failure to take his chances early on. After spurning a couple of break points in the second game, De Minaur grabbed control of the match. Not even a Brooksbycomeback from a break down in the second set threatened the Aussie’s incredible defenses and sharp ground strokes. Brooksbywill be hoping defeat was the start of something special and with matches coming thick and fast in the next month, the 21-year-old cannot afford to rest on his laurels.

Yoshihito Nishioka, for his part, has been out of action for the last two weeks. There are no reported injury concerns, but the Japanese’s last match was a quarterfinal defeat at the Rome Challenger on 15th July. Nishioka has done most of his good work this season on the second tier. He won the Savannah Challenger at the end of January, beating Brooksby en route. He also made the Cleveland final and reached the semifinals of Porto. His record on US soil this season is not too shoddy. Nishioka made the third round of the Miami Open as a qualifier.

Yoshihito Nishioka and Jenson Brooksby have not clashed on the ATP Tour, but they met at the Savannah Challenger at the start of the season. Nishioka won that match pretty routinely and went on to win the title. The Japanese shot maker is clearly having a fitness advantage in this matchup and that could prove telling. We saw signs of Brooksby’s weariness taking a toll in his play during the latter stages of his match against De Minaur. We are backing the upset here.