Australian Open: Khachanov vs Nishioka Tennis Prediction & Pick

TennisSection previews the 2023 Australian Open as Karen Khachanov takes on Yoshihito Nishioka in the fourth round on Sunday, January 22, 2023.

A place in the Australian Open quarterfinal beckons for one of Karen Khachanov and Yoshihito Nishioka. It will be a fascinating clash of styles as power meets finesse. Who will prevail?

Karen Khachanov has blasted his way into the fourth round of the 2023 Australian Open with a thoroughly absorbing four-set victory over Frances Tiafoe. Khachanov has not been garnering a lot of attention in the first week. But in his first major test of the year’s first Grand Slam, he made sure people took notice of his qualities as he outmuscled Tiafoe. Luckily for him, he was able to pinch the fourth set in remarkable style, saving five set points in the tiebreak to prevent the match going into a fifth.

Yoshihito Nishioka, for his part, reached the second week of a Major for the first time after knocking out Rafael Nadal’s conqueror Mackenzie McDonald in straight sets. The American was clearly hurting and was unable to serve towards the end of the match due to injury, gifting points to Nishioka using the underarm serve. Not that it was Nishioka’s fault as he became the first Japanese man since Kei Nishikori to reach the fourth round of a Slam. Can he make it further when he faces Karen Khachanov in the fourth round of the Australian Open?

Karen Khachanov leads Yoshihito Nishioka 2-1 in their head-to-head. However, it was Nishioka who won their last meeting at the 2022 Washington Open in straight sets. That week in the US capital, Nishioka played an incredible level of tennis beating the likes of Rublev, Evans, and De Minaur, and only falling short in the final to Nick Kyrgios. And the Japanese man hasn’t put a foot wrong in the first week of the Australian Open. While the conditions suit Khachanov’s big game style, Nishioka has the weaponry to make the Russian work for it.