The evening session of the Japan Open in Tokyo is headlined by the local hero, Kei Nishikori. Kei is hunting his third Japan Open title. The Dane Holger Rune will try to stop HIM. The evening session will be concluded by the 8th seed Ben Shelton and the Frenchman Arthur Fils.
The 34-year-old Kei Nishikori is having a nice revival in his home country of Japan. Kei is looking like his old self and shining on the court. He has collected two big wins at The Japan Open. In the first round, he defeated another veteran who has been fighting injuries and adversity the last couple of years, Marin Cilic. Cilic had just won The Chengdu Open (ATP 250) as the 777th-ranked player in the world. Will Kei be able to repeat that in Tokyo? In the second round, Nishikori beat Jordan Thompson in two sets. Kei is ranked at the 200th spot in the world and will climb the rankings after the Japan Open.
Holger Rune and Shelton are the only two seeded players left in the draw. The 21-year-old Rune defeated another Japanese player in the second round. Holger took out Nishioka in two sets. Will he ruin the Japanese party one more time? Rune won against Tabilo in the round of 32 in three sets. Holger is currently ranked at the 14th spot in the world and he has won 34 and lost 19 matches in 2024. Holger Rune is not having his best season on the tour and has an opportunity to at least finish off 2024 with a title at the Japan Open. This will be the first matchup ever between these two.
Ben Shelton is still dividing fans of the ATP tour with his arrogant behaviour on the court. Sometimes Ben just can’t stop talking bad about his opponent on the court. It will hopefully get better when Shelton chooses to mature. The 21-year-old American is a very good player though, and he is knocking on the door to the top 10. He is ranked at the 17th spot in the world. The left-hander from Georgia has won 34 and lost 21 matches on the ATP tour in 2024. He won against Opelka in the round of 32 in three sets. He did beat Navone in straight sets in the round of 16. Shelton has one title to his name in 2024, it was in Houston (ATP 250). Ben lost in the third round at the US Open and he played two matches at the Laver Cup. He won one and lost one.
The talented 20-year-old Frenchman, Arthur Fils, defeated the top seed, Taylor Fritz at the Japan Open in the first round. Fils won the match in three sets. In the second round, Fils played against Berrettini and Matteo won the first set in a tiebreak. Just after that, he retired from the match. Bad luck for him but not for the 24th-ranked Fils. Arthur has played 51 matches in 2024 and won 28 of them. Fils has won one title this season, the ATP 500 in Hamburg. These two players faced each other in the Laver Cup in 2023 and Shelton won the match.
FILS VS SHELTON
1.62
WINNER - SHELTON
FILS VS SHELTON
1.62
WINNER - SHELTON
NISHIKORI VS RUNE
2.12
EXACT SETS - 3
NISHIKORI VS RUNE
2.12
EXACT SETS - 3
