Home favorite and defending champion Dominic Thiem begins his title defense against Japanese veteran Kei Nishikori in the first round of the 2020 ATP 500 in Vienna. The match is to be played on either of October 26th or October 27th, with the exact day and time yet to be determined. Get the live streaming options of this Dominic Thiem v Kei Nishikori match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Dominic Thiem v Kei Nishikori Head to Head
This will be the sixth meeting between the players. Nishikori holds a 3-2 head-to-head against Thiem, with a win here in Vienna in straight sets in 2018 among his victories.
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Home Favorite Thiem Begins Title Defense Amidst Loaded Draw
Dominic Thiem is both the home favorite and defending champion here in Vienna, having won the title last year against Diego Schwartzman in a tight final set in the championship match.
Two French Open final losses to Nadal in 2018 and 2019, as well as defeating Nadal on the clay courts of Barcelona, Madrid and Rome are all testament to the Austrian’s skills and abilities on clay. While Thiem has been known to be a clay specialist, his results in the last 12 months have shown him to be more than capable on the hard and indoor surfaces.
Titles in Beijing and Vienna to wrap up 2019, being a finalist at the ATP Tour Finals and Australian Open, topped by a first major title at the US Open last month have evidenced that Thiem is as good a contender as any for most titles, regardless of the surface.
While the Austrian has got the monkey off his back by finally breaking through as a new Grand Slam winner in a Big Three era, there will be the added pressure and expectation from him, as he will now be looked upon differently by many, having won a major. Some of this pressure and fatigue was clearly evident at the French Open, where he lost in the quarter-finals against Diego Schwartzman, attributing it to running on empty and not having much left in the tank for that grueling five- setter.
The number two seed this week has been handed a tricky draw, given the plethora of seasoned players in Vienna this time around, and will be looking for a strong run this week, to not only erase the recent French Open disappointment, but also set himself up well for the Paris Masters and ATP Tour Finals, as well as get closer to that number two ranking currently held by Rafael Nadal.
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Nishikori Looking To End Year On Positive Note
Kei Nishikori has been on the tour for the last decade and has had a consistent career, interspersed with unfortunate and ill-timed injury lay-offs. Once ranked as high as number four in the world in 2015, the Japanese is currently ranked number 35th in the world and looking to end the year on a strong note, hoping to make his way up the rankings.
Returning from an injury lay-off that saw him drop in the rankings, the Japanese had a good second half of 2018 and 2019, which saw him qualify for the year-end ATP finals in 2018 and make the quarter-finals of the Australian and French Opens, as well as Wimbledon, in 2019.
Back in the top ten of the world rankings, Nishikori looked on course for another ATP year- end entry at the O2 arena in London, in 2019. However an elbow injury that bothered him at the US Open, lingered and ended his 2019 season prematurely.
Due to continued injury concerns, Nishikori pulled of the ATP Cup and Australian Open at the start of 2020, and seemed to continue to opt out of tournaments going into the Indian Wells Masters 1000 in March, before the pandemic hit.
Having recovered from injuries and gearing up to return to the tour after the hiatus, the former world number four was hit by Covid-19 and out for the US hard court tournaments. Nishikori returned to the tour on the clay after the US Open, but encountered early losses at Kitzbuhel, Rome, and Hamburg. An early exit at the French Open was followed by another injury flare-up and a last minute drop out from the Antwerp Open last week.
However, Nishikori is back in Vienna where he did well in 2018 defeating none other than Thiem in straight sets, and was a runner-up to Kevin Anderson in the final.
Thiem v Nishikori Prediction and Tip
Although Nishikori has the lead in the head-to-head, both players are coming into the tournament from very different places. Thiem has reached new heights including a first Grand Slam win and in with a shot at the number two ranking in the next few weeks, where as Nishikori has had a difficult last year with injuries and the like.
One can never rule out the Japanese, but it is difficult to envision him push Thiem a whole lot just yet. Expect the 2019 title holder to begin his defense with a straight sets win.
Tip: Thiem to win in straight sets: 3/10 (bet365)
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The Vienna Open 2020 will be played from October 25 to November 1. You can watch & bet on the Cologne Open here. Get your latest premium tennis predictions here.
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