Better Late Than Never?

Nishioka just won two consecutive matches for the first time since February...

Well, he had no success in the Davis Cup or at home in Tokyo. Facing big strikers both times, Struff and Darderi. Perhaps playing at home when you are in bad form is not a good thing, just more pressure... Anyway, to Shanghai he went and picked up two straight sets qualifying wins. Sure, they were against Noguchi and a Vukic who came off a deep run in Tokyo, but still. Despite that, those wins are very important for Nishioka to regain some confidence. Shevchenko has not had the best season either, but it has not been as bad; at least he has gotten a few wins now and then. Shevchenko had a good run to the semifinals in Chengdu and was supposed to play Beijing, but withdrew with a right toe injury. He also called the trainer against Musetti to discuss the foot, but didn't have any treatment.

This matchup should not be too bad for Nishioka, as he avoids facing a super-aggressive player. At first, I thought Shevchenko would suffer in this matchup against a mobile defender, but after I checked, he has quite a good record against defenders that lack power (which is different from Musetti, who defends well and has more power). I don't want to group all the players from the same country into the same playstyle, but Shevchenko is 8-0 against Japanese players, with four of the wins coming in 2025 ;) As for the lefty matchup, I think it's fine for Shevchenko; there's nothing specific in my stats or from visual observation that makes it a big issue for him. So, seems like they will be quite evenly matched... it could not be time for another Overs, could it?