With a small sample size in 2017 to work with, it’s tough to know exactly where Jeremy Chardy’s season is headed.
Chardy got a free pass in the opening round of the Australian Open when his opponent, Nicolas Almagro, withdrew from the tournament dealing with a calf injury. As it stands, the World No. 72 still sports a 1-2 record for the year despite supposedly having played five matches to date. In the Round of 16 in Auckland this past week, another opponent of his in Feliciano Lopez also had to withdraw from the tournament, giving him only three legitimate matches to his credit thus far.
That’s not to say that Chardy should be given the upper hand in Tuesday’s clash against Kei Nishikori. Although the Frenchman has two wins in six matches over Nishikori, his last win came way back in 2013. Furthermore, both of Chardy’s wins over the Japanese standout were held on clay, and with Nishikori winning all three of their most recent meetings – two on the hard court and the latest on clay.
Not only that, but it’s clear that Chardy is still leagues behind elite competition this year. His first match of 2017 was against top-ranked Andy Murray in Qatar, which saw him get eliminated in quick, straight-sets fashion, 6-0, 7-6(2).
Kei Nishikori got off to a rather sputtering start in the first round of the Australian Open, needing all five sets to dispatch World No. 45 Andrey Kuznetsov, 5-7, 6-1, 6-4, 6-7(6), 6-2.
The fifth-best tennis player in the world’s statistics from that match, however, tells a different story. Nishikori had 11 aces to Kuznetsov’s five, and he also managed to convert nine of his 12 break-point opportunities.
There’s no reason to fall out of Nishikori’s favor yet, especially when you consider his solid start to the season. He went deep into the final round in Brisbane earlier this month before falling to Grigor Dmitrov, but not before pulling a relative upset over World No. 4 Stan Wawrinka in the semis of the tournament.
Furthermore, the Shimane native has found the most success Down Under when it come to Grand Slam tournaments, as he’s 20-7 lifetime in Melbourne (74-percent winning percentage) and has made it to the quarterfinal round of the Australian Open in three of the last five seasons. In addition to that, Nishikori has won 68 percent of his matches played on the hard court, and with nine of his 11 singles titles having been won on the surface at that.
Writer’s Prediction
Nishikori (-1,000) bounces back with a more convincing win in straight sets.
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