David Kirouac-USA TODAY Sports/Sipa USA
Jungcheng Shang vs Kei Nishikori: ATP Chengdu – First round
The home hope Jungcheng Shang will take on veteran Kei Nishikori in the opening round of the ATP Chengdu.
Jungcheng Shang Profile
Jungcheng Shang is 67th in the ATP rankings, one spot lower than his career high. The Chinese is 34-19 for the season and 19-8 on hard surface.
The 19-year-old is coming off a 6-7, 3-6, 6-0, 6-3, 6-1 loss to Casper Ruud in the third round of the US Open after beating Roberto Carballes Baena and Alexander Bublik earlier in the tournament.
Shang made it to the semifinals in Hong Kong, Bordeaux and Atlanta this season.
This will be his first appearance in Chengdu.
Kei Nishikori Profile
Former world No. 4 Kei Nishikori is currently 201st in the ATP rankings. The Japanese is 9-6 for the season and 3-2 on hard surface.
Nishikori is coming off a 6-4, 6-4 win over Nicolas Meija in the Davis Cup.
His best result of the season were the quarterfinals in Genova, Como and Montreal.
This will be his first appearance in Chengdu.
Head-to-Head
- Nishikori vs Shang 6-4, 7-6 (2023 ATP Atlanta, round of 16)
Prediction and Conclusion
Two players from different generations will make their debut at the ATP Chengdu today. Shang is still a teenager and the biggest hope of Chinese and Asian tennis at the moment. Nishikori still holds the epithet for the best Asian player ever, but after missing two seasons due to injuries, the Japanese is only a shadow of the player he once was. He will definitely be competitive in this one, but the speed of the youngster and the support of the home crowd will be just too much for the veteran, so we go with Sheng winning this one by covering the -3.5-game spread.
