Prediction Of Shapovalov Vs Nishikori H2H, Who Will Win At ATP Bank Of China Hong Kong Tennis Open 2024?

What Time Will Denis Shapovalov Play Against Kei Nishikori?

Shapovalov and Nishikori are on the Day 2 Schedule at Bank Of China Hong Kong Tennis Open 2024 on Tuesday 31 December 2024. Lets breakdown the career, past stats and recent form of these players and predict who will get the victory.

Who Will Win In This Head-To-Head?

Denis Shapovalov and Kei Nishikori have faced each other twice in the past, with the series between them currently tied at 1-1. The first encounter took place in the 2018 Acapulco tournament, which was played on a hard court surface. Shapovalov won that match with a score of 6-7(3), 6-3, 6-1. The second meeting happened at the 2018 Washington tournament, also played on a hard court. In that match, Nishikori emerged victorious with a score of 7-6(1), 6-3.

Denis Shapovalov is a Canadian player, 25 years old, and currently ranked as the world number 56. He achieved a career-high ranking of number 10. Throughout his career, Shapovalov has amassed a win-loss record of 207-172 and has won two titles. This tournament in Hong Kong marks his debut in this location. Shapovalov made history in 2020 by becoming the first Canadian man to reach the quarter-finals of the US Open, and he joined Milos Raonic as the only Canadian men to break into the top 10. In 2021, he reached his first Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon, defeating two-time champion Andy Murray along the way. Shapovalov has also reached the final of the 2019 Paris tournament and has made four other semi-finals in ATP Masters 1000 events. At the age of 18, he became the youngest semi-finalist in the series history by upsetting Rafael Nadal at the 2017 Montreal tournament. In the 2022 ATP Cup and Davis Cup finals, Shapovalov defeated Pablo Carreno Busta and Thanasi Kokkinakis respectively, contributing to Canada’s victories in both team events.

The match between Shapovalov and Nishikori will take place at the Victoria Park Tennis Court in Hong Kong from December 30, 2024, to January 5, 2025. In his junior career, Shapovalov won the boys’ singles title at Wimbledon in 2016 and then broke into the top 50 of the PIF ATP Rankings within 15 months.

It is worth noting that Shapovalov has an impressive record of 12-1 against opponents ranked outside the top 100 since the start of 2023 on the tour level. His only loss to such an opponent was against No. 142 Mensik at the 2024 Australian Open. Last season, Shapovalov won 18 out of his 26 matches on hard courts, including capturing his second ATP Tour title in Belgrade.

On the other side, we have Kei Nishikori, a 35-year-old Japanese player. He currently holds the world number 106 rank and has reached a career-high ranking of number 4 in 2015. Nishikori has an impressive career record of 441 wins and 221 losses, with 12 ATP Tour titles to his name. He is widely regarded as the top Asian men’s player of all time. In 2014, Nishikori achieved a significant milestone by defeating world number 1 Novak Djokovic at the US Open and becoming the first Asian Grand Slam men’s singles finalist. At the age of 18, he won his first ATP Tour title at the 2008 Delray Beach tournament, making him the youngest champion on the tour since Lleyton Hewitt in 1998. Nishikori is a six-time ATP 500 champion, a four-time ATP Masters 1000 finalist, a four-time Nitto ATP Finals qualifier, and won a bronze medal at the 2016 Rio Olympics. He also holds the highest winning percentage in deciding sets among active players, with a record of 151 wins and 58 losses.

Nishikori concluded the 2024 season by winning the Helsinki Challenger title and is now aiming to make a return to the top 100 in the PIF ATP Rankings. This would be the first time he has been in the top 100 since June 2022. He had a difficult record against left-handers in 2024, going 0-4 in matches against them.

Now, as Shapovalov and Nishikori face each other in Hong Kong, it will be an exciting encounter between two talented players, each with their own achievements and strengths on the tennis court.

My Conclusion / Prediction:

My pick is that Shapovalov will win.
Matchstat.com has an Artificial Intelligence (Ai) prediction model that is trained on all professional ATP and WTA past matches.

To find out who our model thinks will win for Denis Shapovalov vs Kei Nishikori, have a look at the prediction here:

Matchstat.com Denis Shapovalov vs Kei Nishikori prediction.