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Match details
Fixture: Brandon Nakashima vs Arthur Rinderknech
Date: 21 January 2021
Tournament: Amex-Istanbul Challenger 2021
Round: Second Round (Round of 16)
Venue: Istanbul, Turkey
Category: ATP Challenger
Surface: Outdoor hardcourt
Prize money: €132,280
Brandon Nakashima vs Arthur Rinderknech preview
Brandon Nakashima takes on France's Arthur Rinderknech in the second round of the American Express Istanbul Challenger 2021 on Thursday.
Nakashima came into the tournament on the back a disappointing run in Australian Open qualifying, where he lost in the first round. And the 19-year-old started on the wrong foot in his first round encounter at Istanbul too, dropping the first set to home favorite Cem Ilkel.
But Nakashima rallied in fine fashion, taking the match 3-6 6-4 6-3 to set up a second round encounter against World No. 178 Arthur Rinderknech.
In just two professional seasons on tour, the 25-year-old Rinderknech has quickly risen through the ranks to become a mainstay on the Challenger tour. He comes into the Istanbul tournament after narrowly missing out on Australian Open main draw qualification, losing to Michael Mmoh in the final round.
Rinderknech set up the second-round encounter against Nakashima by winning his opening match against India No. 2 Prajnesh Gunneswaran, who retired after being a break down in the second set.
Brandon Nakashima vs Arthur Rinderknech head-to-head
The second-round encounter in Istanbul is the first meeting between Brandon Nakashima and Arthur Rinderknech, so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.
Brandon Nakashima vs Arthur Rinderknech prediction
Ranked 170th and 178th respectively, Brandon Nakashima and Arthur Rinderknech come into this match in similar kind of form.
Rinderknech is relatively more experienced, having won a Challenger as recently as March 2020 in Calgary. Nakashima on the other hand is known to have ups and downs during the course of his matches, the way he did against Ilkel.
But the highly touted American teenager is certainly very talented, even drawing comparisons with the likes of Novak Djokovic due to his precision from the back of the court. Nakashima will look to use his solid movement and compact baseline game to get him through against the comparatively less explosive Rinderknech.
Prediction: Brandon Nakashima to win in three sets.
