What can we really expect?

Are we going into this match more or less completely blind?

When one player is coming back from a lengthy injury, there are always uncertainties about what to expect! Now, we have two players who have not played consistently for ages. Nishikori gets a wildcard in a tournament where he has pretty good memories and results. We have seen a few decent matches from him in the last year or two, but there is a lack of consistency due to his physical issues. It is hard not to feel bad for Shang... such a great player whose foot injury has become a horrible nightmare. Both players are quite familiar with each other! Shang had to retire in the first set in Hong Kong last year, against Nishikori. Besides that, they had an exhibition in Macau and another match in Chengdu in 2024, where Nishikori was struggling physically! Their first meeting was in Atlanta in 2023, with Nishikori winning 6-4, 7-6.

Nishikori's backhand is a great weapon, especially against lefties! We know that he returns very aggressively and plays with a high tempo. Unfortunately, these kinds of qualities tend to diminish quite heavily with age, due to slower reactions. However, being able to finish points this way is probably preferable to having to rely on a grinding game as you age? Nonetheless, Shang is very aware of how Nishikori plays; he even says that they are quite similar. After one of their previous meetings, he said that the key is to overpower him, which makes sense. Otherwise, he can take control of the match with his shot quality if he is allowed to just stay inside the baseline without moving too much...