Nuno Borges vs Kei Nishikori Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP National Bank Open

Prediction published on 08/08/2024, 15:59  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 08/08/2024 at 16:20 in Tennis Predictions

Nuno Borges caused a surprise in round two when beating 12th seed Ugo Humbert. He now takes on fellow unseeded player Kei Nishikori for a place in the Montreal quarter-finals. Who’ll get through? Read our match prediction.

Borges was 43rd in the latest rankings but is up to a career-high 37th in the live rankings. Beating Nishikori could take him into the top 30. A first ever seeding at a Grand Slam could well be on the way for the Portuguese player.

So far in Montreal, the two wins that he has had have both seen him have to come from a set down to get the victory. A win over Nishikori would see him in his second ATP Tour hard court quarter-final of the year. He also recently won an ATP Tour clay court event.

Kei Nishikori has won two matches in an ATP Tour event for only the second time since 2021. The Japanese player has had so many injury problems and only won one match on tour in 2024 before this week. The former world number four (achieved nine years ago) has caused two surprises though to reach the last 16. He lost the first set to Alex Michelsen in round one but fought back to get the win. Round two saw him defeat the eighth-seeded Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets.

A win here will take him into his first ATP Tour quarter-final since last September. Not since August 2021 has he won three successive matches and that was on a hard court in Washington. He’s up to 317th in the live rankings. This could be a close match but Borges looks to be in the better form and can win this.