Daily Fuzz
Two-time Kei Nishikori will face Frances Tiafoe as he commences his final appearance in Tokyo.
Chris OddoSeptember 29, 20262 minute read
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Carlos Alcaraz will be back in action this week as the top seed in Tokyo. A tournament that also features Kei Nishikori’s final appearance.
Alcaraz, fresh off a winning performance at Laver Cup, starts his journey with a first-round match with Alex Michelsen. He’ll face the winner of Matteo Arnaldi and Rei Sakamoto in the second round and could face seventh-seeded Tommy Paul in the quarterfinals.
Taylor Fritz, seeded third, and Casper Ruud, seeded sixth, also loom as potential semifinal opponents for Alcaraz.
Also of note in the draw is the appearance of Holger Rune. The Dane will make his first ATP level appearance since he injured his achilles last autumn. Rune, who went 2-0 in Davis Cup over the weekend with a three-set win over Grigor Dimitrov, injured his achilles last October in Stockholm.
Rune will face Kyrian Jacquet of France in first-round action.
Nishikori vs Tiafoe
Nishikori, 36, won the Tokyo title in 2012 and 2014, and reached the final in 2018 – he is 24-9 lifetime at the event.
The former world No.4 will face No.2 seed Frances Tiafoe in the first round.
Here is a list of the eight seeded players and their first-round opponents:
SeedPlayerFirst-round opponent1Carlos AlcarazAlex Michelsen2Frances TiafoeKei Nishikori (WC)3Taylor FritzJaume Munar (Q)4Rafael JodarAdolfo Daniel Vallejo (Q)5Brandon NakashimaUgo Humbert6Casper RuudLuciano Darderi7Tommy PaulAlejandro Tabilo8Valentin VacherotAlexander Blockx
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