Kei Nishikori vs Alexandre Muller Prediction & Betting Tips - Hong Kong Open

Prediction published on 04/01/2025, 11:14  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 04/01/2025 at 12:14 in Tennis Predictions

Not since 2019 has Kei Nishikori played in an ATP Tour final. The long wait ends on Sunday when he takes on fellow unseeded player Alexandre Muller in the Hong Kong Open final. Time for our match prediction.

Nishikori has had more than his fair share of injuries in his career. He ended 2024 well with a Challenger Tour title won and now he's in an ATP Tour final. He's up to 74th in the live rankings and could climb another 12 places if winning the 13th ATP Tour title of his career.

His tournament began well with a win over Denis Shapovalov and then followed that up with a three-set win over third-seeded Karen Khachanov. He then defeated Cameron Norrie in three sets and in his semi-final defeated Juncheng Shang who retired in set one when 4-3 down.

Alexandre Muller has risen to 59th in the live rankings thanks to reaching this outdoor hard court final. The Frenchman has only ever reached one ATP Tour final in his career. That was on clay in Morocco two years ago.

Muller probably didn't expect to reach the final here after a poor end to 2024. His last three matches had all been lost in straight sets and hadn't won two successive matches in a tounament since September.

That's all changed this week with wins over Marc-Andrea Husler, Miomir Kecmanovic, fourth-seeded Arthur Fils and Jaume Munar. In each match he won after losing the first set. We tip Nishikori to win.