Yoshihito Nishioka
Japanese star Yoshihito Nishioka will face the challenge of Italy’s Lorenzo Sonego in the second round of the Italian Open
Lorenzo Sonego has got his campaign at the Italian Open off to a great start with a comprehensive straight-sets victory against Jeremy Chardy. He hasn’t been in the best form of late but showed his class during his opening match against Chardy. However, the Italian would aim to work on his consistency and go deep into the tournament in Rome. It will be a tough challenge but Sonego certainly has what it takes to beat anyone on his day.
Nishioka is coming to this tournament at the back of a shock first-round exit from a Challenger tournament in Italy last week. The Japanese No.1 was the top seed at the event in Cagliari but got eliminated in the very first round after losing to Daniel Galan. Nishioka would look to brush off the defeat as a one-off loss and focus on doing well in Rome.
Nishioka’s form has certainly been a worry of late. He hasn’t been at his sublime best and has lacked consistency throughout the season. There are high expectations from him and he is certainly capable of doing much better than his recent results. It remains to be seen if he can turn things around in Italy and cause a few upsets.
Date – Saturday, 13th May
Court Type – Clay outdoor surface
Telecast – Tennis Channel
Start Time – To be Announced
Location – Foro Italico
Match details – Round of 64 match
Sonego and Nishioka have never played each other before on the ATP tour. This is the first professional head to head clash between the two players. On paper, Nishioka is the favourite both in terms of form and rankings. However, one can certainly not rule out Sonego and the Italian star is expected to put up a tough fight. We are predicting a thrilling encounter with Nishioka eventually edging out Sonego in three sets.
More Tennis news
Follow our dedicated Tennis page for instant Tennis news and updates