{"id":73798,"date":"2024-09-25T09:44:54","date_gmt":"2024-09-25T13:44:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/?p=73798"},"modified":"2024-09-25T09:49:53","modified_gmt":"2024-09-25T13:49:53","slug":"atp-tokyo-day-2-predictions-ruud-thompson","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/tennis\/2024\/09\/25\/atp-tokyo-day-2-predictions-ruud-thompson\/","title":{"rendered":"ATP Tokyo Day 2 Predictions Including Casper Ruud vs Jordan Thompson"},"content":{"rendered":"

There aren’t many Top 10 players at the Japan Open but a lot of Top 20-25 players. This means a lot of close matches and exciting tennis for the fans. Day 2 at the ATP 500 in Tokyo is stacked, and this article features the #3 seed, Casper Ruud, and defending champion, Ben Shelton. As always, we here at LWOT will offer our predictions for every match on the slate for Day 2. We split the rest of the day’s matches between two other articles–featuring Marin Cilic vs Kei Nishikori<\/a> and Taylor Fritz vs Arthur Fils<\/a>. But who will advance?<\/p>\n

ATP Tokyo Day 2 Predictions<\/h2>\n

Frances Tiafoe vs Brandon Nakashima<\/h4>\n

Head-to-Head<\/strong>: Tiafoe 4-0 Nakashima<\/p>\n

Frances Tiafoe is in brilliant form and he showcased that at the Laver Cup. He defeated Daniil Medvedev and was extremely close to defeating Alexander Zverev. Tiafoe is a former finalist at this event and also made the quarterfinals last year. Brandon Nakashima has won a lot of matches this year and has a chance to beat Tiafoe for the first time. Tiafoe has dominated this matchup but I have concerns over his commitment level this week. I might end up being completely wrong though.
\nPrediction: Nakashima in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

[tgdcta items=”1″ id=”170472″]<\/p>\n

Ben Shelton vs Reilly Opelka<\/h4>\n

Head-to-Head<\/strong>: Shelton 1-0 Opelka<\/p>\n

Ben Shelton played fantastic tennis at the Laver Cup and displayed great maturity in his game. He was patient in rallies and was serving brilliantly. Shelton spent a lot of time on the court and played some long matches which must have exhausted him. The jet lag from a long journey will also affect his recovery. However, Opelka won’t trouble him much outside his big serving and Shelton can match that as he showed in their last meeting. Shelton also has the mental advantage of having won this tournament last year. It might come down to tiebreaks again and I expect Shelton to be more clutch.
\nPrediction: Shelton in 3<\/em><\/p>\n

Embed from Getty Images<\/a>