Sworn brothers turned enemies?

A Japanese player facing a Chinese player with, on top of that, a similar style of play – something quite rare in tennis for two nations that are on the rise in this sport.

An unexpected poster, with a Wu who beats Casper Ruud thanks to a huge performance. He really lived up to his seeding right up to the tie-break and was truly brilliant. Congratulations to the Chinese player, who fully deserves his victory. We know that when he’s not injured and is confident, he can produce matches like this one. The conditions suit him well and allow him to deploy his powerful game. Wu is therefore logically the favorite. He will face the Japanese player Shimabukuro, who is constantly improving, having come through all the qualifying rounds of the American tournaments in February and looking solid against Mannarino, despite the latter’s personal issues. Shimabukuro played well and the low, not very topspun balls worked in favor of his style.

Curiously, when I asked Marcos how Shimabukuro plays and which player he would compare him to, he mentioned that he’s a sort of Wu, so we’re expecting mirror games, where Wu seems to be the stronger one. However, betting on this match is risky because of the Chinese player’s physical niggles, and one good performance is not necessarily followed by another. If he continues in this vein, a bet could be considered, but I’m not planning to bet on Shimabukuro either, unless it’s on a well-priced over 21 games. Otherwise, it’s not a great match in terms of sports betting opportunities.