I don’t love laying points with returners I don’t trust, but Brandon Nakashima appears to have a huge chunk of his mojo back, a level of confidence that saw him raise a tour-level trophy at San Diego in 2022.
Since then, the American has struggled massively with injuries and form but a title at Tenerife, paired with a routine first-up win at Belgium over Benjamin Hassan has me thinking he’s the favourite to take out this tournament and should certainly be a warm favourite against Raphael Collignon.
The youngster will have the support of the home crowd, but unfortunately the data set really doesn’t favour him here as he’s holding at a woeful 70.4 percent on har courts at all levels in the last 52 weeks, and he’s been firmly fixed at futures and Challenger level.
He was dominant on Wednesday night against Rudolf Molleker, but the task at hand in Nakashima is much taller.
With a 9-2 record this season, Nakashima is holding at 91 percent and has only lost to Jakub Mensik (Canberra and Aus Open qualifying), a player who was very close to knocking off Hubert Hurkacz at the Australian Open and presented an extremely high level while down under.
Nakashima wants to return to the world’s top 50 and is certainly capable enough to be pushing for tour-level titles again. I’m not sure the same can be said about Collignon who is talented in his own right but has a lot more to improve before he’s in the same conversation as someone like Nakashima.
Suggested Bet:
0.75 units Brandon Nakashima -3.5 games @ $1.75 with Pinnacle.
Over 18s Only (21+ in some jurisdictions). 1 unit = 1% of bankroll. Please enjoy your betting responsibly. Never bet more than you can afford to lose, and do not chase a loss.
Jake’s Challenger Belgium Preview: Nakashima vs. Collignon
