ATP 250 Hangzhou quarterfinals
Nakashima – Hijikata: 22.09.2024 07:30 CEST
H2H: 2-0
Brandon Nakashima has won four of his last five matches. Last week in the Davis Cup, Nakashima won all of his matches. Here in Hangzhou, Brandon had it hard against Wong. Nakashima won that match in three tight sets. After losing the first set, Brandon stepped up his game and turned the match around. He had a great serving performance, hitting 21 aces with 0 double faults.
Rinky Hijikata has won three of his last five matches. Here in Hangzhou, Rinky defeated Dzumhur in the first round, after he was set down, and 2-5 down in the second set. It was one of the biggest comebacks this season. After that, Marozsan withdrew from the second round match, so Rinky reached the quarterfinals without having to play his second round match. Hijikata did not win anything this season. His biggest result was reaching the quarterfinals of the ATP 500 in London. Rinky is on the verge of dropping out of the top 100 in the rankings. He needs some solid results if he wants to stay in the top 100, and keep playing at the highest level.
Best Bet to Make
According to the bookies, Nakashima is the big favorite in this matchup. We believe that he will win this match, but we still think that Hijikata will keep this match tight. Rinky is a great server and had enough days to rest and prepare for his quarterfinal match.
That being said, over games is a value bet.
Value bet/ the best odds: over 21.5 games @1.83 @bet365
Zhang – Carballes Baena: 22.09.2024 13:30 CEST
H2H: 0-1
Zhizhen Zhang has won three of his last five matches. Here in Hangzhou, Zhang had it hard against Yevseyev in the opening round. It was a roller-coaster match. Both players were inconsistent throughout the whole match. In the second round, Zhang absolutely dominated against Bellucci, winning in easy straight sets. Zhang is out of form, and is on the verge of dropping outside the top 50. Last year around this time, Zhang played in Shanghai, where he reached the 1/8-Finals, losing against Hurkacz in three tight sets.
Roberto Carballes Baena has won seven straight matches. Last week in Spain, Roberto won the challenger title in Seville on clay. This may not have been the best decision, considering that he played on clay, right before the Asian swing where the courts are very fast. However, Carballes Baena won his opening round match against Moutet in straight sets. After that, in the second round, Roberto defeated Krueger in three tight sets as we predicted. Baena did not have any remarkable results this season on the hard courts.
Best Bet to Make
According to the bookies, Zhang is the slight favorite in this matchup. We believe that he is a way better hard court player than Baena, and that he will dominate from the very start. He showed great tennis in the second round, and we believe that he will continue in that fashion.
That being said, Zhang winning in straight sets is a value bet.
Value bet/ the best odds: Zhizhen Zhang winning 2-0 @2.20 @bet365
Main Photo Credit: John E. Sokolowski-USA TODAY Sports
