Cincinnati Open 2023: Alexander Zverev vs Yoshihito Nishioka preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick | Western & Southern Open

Fixture: (16) Alexander Zverev vs Yoshihito Nishioka

Tournament: Cincinnati Open

Round: Second Round (Round of 32)

Date: August 16, 2023

Venue: Cincinnati, USA

Category: ATP Masters 1000

Surface: Hardcourt

Prize money: $6,600,000

Live telecast:- USA: Tennis Channel | UK: Amazon Prime | Australia: beIN Sports | Canada: TSN

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Alexander Zverev vs Yoshihito Nishioka preview

Zverev is into the second round.

Sixteenth seed Alexander Zverev will take on unseeded Japanese Yoshihito Nishioka on Wednesday for a place in the third round of the Cincinnati Open.

World No. 17 Zverev opened his campaign for a second title at the Western & Southern Open with a straight-sets win over 2017 champion Grigor Dimitrov. Dishing out an impressive performance, the 26-year-old dropped only two games to bag the opener.

It was exactly the same story in the second set. Dimitrov only won two more games as Zverev booked his place in the second round and improved to 35-19 on the season and 6-6 at the Masters 1000 event. Coming off a second-round defeat at the Canada Masters in Toronto last week, Zverev will look to avoid the same fate in Cincinnati.

Meanwhile, the 45th-ranked Nishioka faced a sterner challenge from Frenchman Gregoire Barrere in his tournament opener. After edging out the first set for the loss of four games, Nishioka clinched the second after 12 games for his 14th win in 28 matches in 2023 as he improves to 4-1 in Cincinnati.

With the win over Barrere, the 2019 quarterfinalist snapped a five-match losing streak since reaching the Roland Garros second week. The diminutive left-hander has also reached the Australian Open fourth round this year.

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Alexander Zverev vs Yoshihito Nishioka head-to-head

The pair's lone meeting came way back in 2015 in the Washington DC first round, when a then 18-year-old Zverev won in straight sets. This will be their second clash on hardcourt.

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Alexander Zverev vs Yoshihito Nishioka odds

Player	Moneyline	Handicap Bets	Total Games (over/under)
Alexander Zverev	-650	-3.5 (-220)	Over 18.5 (-335)
Yoshihito Nishioka	+400	+3.5 (+165)	Under 18.5 (+230)

All odds are sourced from Oddschecker.

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Alexander Zverev vs Yoshihito Nishioka prediction

Nishioka is into the second round.

Both Zverev and Nishioka like to dominate opponents from the back of the court, but the similarities in their game styles end there.

Zverev is one of the biggest servers and hardest hitters on tour and moves well for his height. The left-handed Nishioka, meanwhile, has more modest weapons and is largely a counterpuncher.

Moreover, the German takes the edge because of his superior experience, consistency and pedigree on hardcourt, where he has a 213-101 record and 13 titles. Nishioka, meanwhile, is only 92-92 on the surface, winning two titles.

Both players have improved massively since their last meeting almost a decade ago, but Zverev should have enough firepower to see off Nishioka.

Pick: Zverev in straight sets