Duje Ajdukovic vs Brandon Nakashima Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Houston

Prediction published on 30/03/2024, 08:39  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 30/03/2024 at 16:38 in Tennis Predictions

Unseeded pair Duje Adjukovic and Brandon Nakashima meet in round one of the US clay court championships. The winner of this match will take on either fifth seed Christopher Eubanks or unseeded Rinky Hijikata in round two of this Houston tournament. Nakashima is the highest ranked of the two players, currently 92nd in the world which is 23 places above his opponent. The 22-year-old has been as high as 43rd in the world. That was due to an impressive 2022 that saw him get to the fourth round at Wimbledon. He also reached the third round at both Roland Garros (on clay of course) and the US Open. He's struggled to match that level since though and hasn't won a match in his last five Grand Slams. Nakashima has had some success on the Challenger Tour this year with one final reached but that was on a hard court. Last year saw him get to the last four of the Lyon clay court tournament with wins over Tommy Paul, Arthur Rinderknech and Diego Schwartzman.

Duje Adjukovic has also been playing a great deal on the Challenger Tour this year with a hard court final reached. The Croatian has played more on clay than his opponent but this is his first match on this surface in 2024. Last year saw him win three clay court tournaments on the lesser World Tennis Tour and two on the Challenger Tour. He's not in great form at present though with his last three matches all being lost. We tip Nakashima to win this.