French Open preview and odds: Kei Nishikori vs Fernando Verdasco

Published on: 26/05/2016

French Open preview and odds: Kei Nishikori vs Fernando Verdasco

May 27, 2016 - Roland Garros, Third Round

Kei Nishikori will be hoping to continue his good form on clay when he faces veteran Spaniard Fernando Verdasco in the third round of the French Open on Friday.

Nishikori faces tough customer in third round

It has been a good couple of months for Kei Nishikori who followed up a finals appearance on the hard courts of Miami, with a trip to the final in Barcelona and back-to-back semi-final appearances in Madrid and Rome - all on clay.

So far he has carried forward his good form on clay into this tournament, having breezed past Italian Simone Bolelli in Round One and in-form Russian Andrey Kuznetsov in Round Two without dropping a set.

Despite his World No. 6 status, the Japanese star has only progressed beyond the quarter-final stage of a Grand Slam on one previous occasion - when he reached the final of the 2014 US Open.

Meanwhile, Spanish veteran Fernando Verdasco comes into this match with a 2-1 record over his opponent, although it was the Japanese player who won their last meeting at Indian Wells last year.

Their one and only meeting on clay came in Barcelona way back in 2012 when Nishikori was forced to retire with an injury in the first set.

The 32-year-old gave his rankings position a boost by winning on clay in Bucharest last month. That victory lifted him from 86th to 51st in the world. The former World No. 7 could force his way back into the top 50 with a win on Friday.

Betting predictions

Nishikori has arrived at this tournament in good shape, with three of his last four defeats coming at the hand of the World No. 1. Meanwhile, Verdasco has lost 11 of his last 13 matches against top 20 opponents.

You can Nishikori to win 3-1 at 11/4 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 26/05/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (26/05/2016 13:15:38) but are subject to change.