World No. 49 Brandon Nakashima takes on world No. 74 Jiri Lehecka in the final match of the Next Gen ATP Finals on Saturday.
The talented American has shown his class and managed to do what he couldn’t in last year’s Next Gen ATP Finals. In 2021, he was ousted in the semis by Sebastian Korda but this time he has looked much more assured in his run to the final.
The fourth seed had a tough time during his opening encounter against Matteo Arnaldi. Nakashima had to fight hard for every point in an epic five-set thriller in which he won 2-4, 4-3 (9-7), 4-3 (7-4), 3-4, 4-2. In the second match, Nakashima produced a solid performance en route to winning 4-1, 4-3 (7-2), 4-2 against Jiri Lehecka. It goes without saying that this win will give Nakashima a lot of confidence going into the final against the No. 5 seed. In the final round-robin match, Nakashima made light work of Francesco Passaro and eased past the Italian in straight sets 4-3 (7-4), 4-2, 4-1. Nakashima was up against third seed Jack Draper in the semis. On paper, it felt that it was going to be tight but the 21-year-old brought his A-game to the fore and defeated Draper 4-3 (8-6), 1-4, 4-2, 4-3 (7-5).
The 2022 ATP Rotterdam semifinalist and been phenomenal except for that one slip against Brandon Nakashima in the group stage.
The 21-year-old got his campaign off to a fine start as he blew away Francesco Passaro in his first match. In the second match, he lost to Nakashima but came back with an important win against Matteo Arnaldi in his final group match in straight sets 4-3, (7-5), 4-1, 4-3 (7-4). In the semis, Lehecka faced Dominic Stephan Stricker, who had been unbeaten in the tournament. A confident performance from Lehecka helped him win the match 4-1, 4-3 (7-4), 2-4, 4-1.
The head-to-head scoreline currently stands at 1-0 in favor of Nakashima.
Prediction: Brandon Nakashima to win in four sets.
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