World No. 66, Ilya Ivashka of Belarus will take on Kei Nishikori of Japan, the world number 69, in the third round of the Olympics men’s singles on Thursday, July 29. Get the live streaming options of this Ilya Ivashka v Kei Nishikori match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Ilya Ivashka v Kei Nishikori Head to Head
The pair have never played each other once before. This will be the first match between the 27 year old from Belarus, and the Japanese, who is four years older.
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Ivashka Comes from Behind to Beat Kazakh
Having seen off the challenge of the number 10 seed Gael Monfils in the first round, Ivashka might have expected Mikhail Kukushkin of Kazakhstan, the world number 123, to be a relatively easy second round opponent.
He proved to be anything but though, especially in the first set which became a service battle, with not a single break point created by either man.
And they remained flawless in the tie-break too, before Ivashka was the first to crack. He gave Kukushkin a mini-break, which he then duly converted into the set.
The Kazakh saved a break point in his opening service game of the second set, but two games later, he was broken for the first time. Ivashka defended his advantage and then consolidated it with a second break as he levelled the match.
He then took control of the match by breaking Kukushkin early in the third set.
However, before he could relax he was broken in turn, but responded with a further break of his own.
Kukushkin was not beaten yet -he had another break point in the next game, could not take it, and, from there, Ivashka was finally able to close out the match.
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Nishikori Keeps Japanese Hopes Alive
After the shock elimination of Naomi Osaka, it was left to Nishikori, the bronze medallist from Rio, to keep Japanese hopes live in the tennis competition.
And, having pulled off a surprise by beating Andrey Rublev of Russia, the number five seed, he did not disappoint hs legion of fans, even though Marcos Giron of the USA, the world number 65, made it a close contest, at least for the first two sets.
Nishikori began well forcing an early service break, but could not hold on to his advantage and Giron broke back. With nothing then to separate the pair of them, it went to a tie-break, which, whilst scrappy, Nishikori was able to eventually claim.
However, The man form Japan was immediately on the back foot in the second set after dropping hs opening service game. Giron offered him no break back opportunities, and underlined his command with a second break.
The momentum appeared to be with the American but, instead it was Nishikori who seized the initiative in the third set by breaking Giron in the opening game. He then consolidated that with a second break , and with the American’s resistance broken, a third break sealed the win.
Ivashka v Nishikori Prediction and Tip
Nishikori will be desperate to win to keep Japan’s hopes alive for a few more days, and that should be motivation enough for him to produce his best tennis.
Tip: Nishikori to win: 5/7 (Click Here to Bet with bet365)
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The 2020 Olympics tennis will be played from July 24 and August 1. You can watch & bet on these matches here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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