No. 3 and No. 4 seeds – Jack Draper and Brandon Nakashima, will lock horns in the semifinals of the Next Gen ATP Finals on Friday in what promises to be a humdinger.
The talented southpaw came into the tournament as one of the contenders to lift the title. However, he did not have the best start, losing to Dominic Stephan Stricker in his first match in straight sets 4-3 (7-5), 4-3 (7-5),4-3 (7-5).
To make matters worse, Draper lost the opening set of his second match against Tseng Chun-hsin. With his back against the wall, the British youngster produced a sensational turnaround and won all six sets he has played since then. He defeated Tseng 1-4, 4-2, 4-3 (7-2), 4-2 to get his campaign back on track. In a crucial match against Lorenzo Musetti in his final group-stage encounter, Draper completely outplayed the Italian and won the match 4-1, 4-0, 4-3 (7-3).
The 21-year-old was also one of the picks to go the distance at the Next Gen ATP Finals. He has managed to reach the semis in Milan for the second straight year. Last year, he was ousted by Sebastian Korda in the semifinals.
Nakashima had to dig deep in his very first match of the campaign against Matteo Arnaldi. The Italian gave Nakashima a good run for his money but eventually went down 4-2, 3-4 (7-9), 3-4 (4-7), 4-3, 2-4. Nakashima followed this up with another win against Jiri Lehecka but in a comprehensive manner. The match ended 4-1, 4-3 (7-2), 4-2 in favor of the American youngster. Nakashima punched his ticket to the semis with another convincing win against Francesco Passaro in straight sets 4-3 (7-4), 4-2, 4-1.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 0-0 as the two players have never crossed paths as yet.
Prediction: Jack Draper to win in five sets.
More Tennis news
Follow our dedicated Tennis page for instant Tennis news and updates