In what should be a very exciting second-round match at the Shanghai Masters, Brandon Nakashima takes on world No. 5 Holger Rune. With Nakashima being 123rd in the rankings, you’d think this should be something of a straightforward win for Rune. But the Danish phenom has lost eight of his last nine matches. He is in a bad way right now, which is why I like backing Nakashima to cover the +2.5 game spread here.
Nakashima hasn’t exactly been spectacular himself lately, as he snapped a four-match losing streak when he earned a straight-set win over Bernabe Zapata Miralles. But I do think he has the type of game that can give Rune trouble. Nakashima is very reliable with the ball on his racquet, as he has had a hold percentage just short of 85.0% in each of his four tour-level seasons. I think his ability to play clean service games will serve him well in this match, as Rune’s serve has been failing him lately—not just when it comes to results, but there has even been talk of his service motion hurting his back.
