Kei Nishikori won’t have the home crowd behind him–at least not in the stadium–on Sunday when he begins his bid for another Olympic medal against Andrey Rublev. Felix Auger-Aliassime and Andy Murray are also set for a blockbuster first-rounder.
Kei Nishikori vs. (5) Andrey Rublev
Rublev and Nishikori will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers when they clash in round one of the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday evening. Their only previous meeting came three years ago at the Cincinnati Masters, where Nishikori prevailed 7-5, 6-3. Of course, Rublev is an entirely different player now. The Russian has been one of the five best players in the world dating back to the start of 2020 and he currently finds himself at seventh in the rankings.
Eight years Rublev’s senior at 31, Nishikori is struggling down at No. 69 in the world. The Japanese veteran is a modest 15-13 this season and does not have much momentum following a pair of second-round losses on grass (to Sebastian Korda in Halle and to Jordan Thompson at Wimbledon). Nishikori also doesn’t really have home-court advantage in this once since fans are not allowed. A former bronze medalist (Rio in 2016), Nishikori probably won’t get out of round one this time around.
Pick: Rublev in 3
Andy Murray vs. (9) Felix Auger-Aliassime
Murray has high hopes for another medal–but five years after winning singles gold for a second time it looks like a podium appearance could come in doubles at the Tokyo Olympics. The 34-year-old Scot is teaming up with red-hot doubles specialist Joe Salisbury and they upset No. 2 seeds Nicolas Mahut and Pierre-Hugues Herbert in convincing fashion on Saturday. In singles, though, Murray’s comeback from hip surgery has been a much different story. He is just 4-4 in 2021 and comes in at No. 104 in the world.
Up next for the former world No. 1 is a second career encounter with Auger-Aliassime, who dominated 6-2, 6-3, 6-4 at the 2020 U.S. Open. Since that event, the only two players in the top 100 whom Murray has defeated are Benoit Paire and Nikoloz Basilashvil. Both of those results came on grass, so he doesn’t really have a good hard-court win in almost a full year. This would be a great win, as Auger-Aliassime is ranked 15th and coming off a quarterfinal run at Wimbledon. The Canadian is simply too big of a step up in competition for Murray.
Pick: Auger-Aliassime in 2
Rublev, FAA, and Murray all OUT