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Match details
Fixture: Kyle Edmund vs Yoshihito Nishioka
Date: 19 October 2020
Tournament: Bett1Hulks Championship 2020
Round: First round (Round of 32)
Venue: Cologne, Germany
Category: ATP 250
Surface: Indoor hardcourt
Prize money: €325,610
Match timing: Approx. 4 pm CEST, 7.30 pm IST
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel
Kyle Edmund vs Yoshihito Nishioka preview
World No. 47 Kyle Edmund comes into the Cologne 2 event on the back of a slew of mediocre results. The 25-year-old has struggled for consistency since the resumption of tennis, failing to make it past the first round in three out of four tournaments.
Edmund was knocked out in his opening match at the Cincinnati and Rome Masters, as well as at Cologne 1 last week. The Brit made it to the second round at US Open 2020, but then came up against World No. 1 Novak Djokovic - whom he lost to in four sets.
Edmund will be keen to get back to winning ways against Yoshihito Nishioka, who is nine places behind him in the ATP rankings.
Nishioka has also been struggling for form of late; he has a win-loss record of 2-6 since the resumption of the tour. However, the Japanese does have a couple of big scalps to his name.
Nishioka knocked out Canadian prodigy and 19th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets at Roland Garros last month. He was also impressive against Serbia's Miomir Kecmanovic in the first round of the Rome Masters, winning 6-4, 6-1.
The World No. 56 will now hope to find some success on the indoor hardcourts of Cologne this week. Four out of his five career titles have come on hardcourt, so he certainly knows how to play on the surface.
Kyle Edmund vs Yoshihito Nishioka head-to-head
Kyle Edmund and Yoshihito Nishioka have not faced off on tour before. Their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
Kyle Edmund vs Yoshihito Nishioka prediction
Kyle Edmund likes to dictate the rallies from the baseline, relying on his solid groundstrokes for that. His powerful forehand is the biggest weapon in his arsenal, which he can hit with a lot of pace and accuracy.
Yoshihito Nishioka, on the other hand, moves extremely well on the court. That can be a significant advantage for the Japanese player if Edmund is slow to get off the blocks.
The left-hander also has a solid backhand and is in slightly better form going into the tournament, so he might have the edge overall.
Prediction: Yoshihito Nishioka to win in three sets.
