Halle Open 2021: Kei Nishikori vs. Ricardas Berankis 6/15/21 Tennis Prediction

Kei Nishikori of Japan will face Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis in the First Round of the 2021 Halle Open in Germany. The match is scheduled to be played on Tuesday June 15th, 2021 at a time yet to be determined.

Kei Nishikori and Ricardas Berankis kick off their grass court seasons here at the 2021 Halle Open. Both men are highly experienced and this is sure to be a very tough First Round battle. Both men will be keen to get off to a good start here as they prepare for Wimbledon, who will win here and advance to the Second Round?

Kei Nishikori is a former world #4 and has finally been stringing some consistent performances together on the ATP Tour after a long period where he suffered with loss of form and injuries. While he considers grass his least favorite surface, he has had some strong performances on it, reaching the Semi-Finals here in Halle twice, and the Quarter-Finals at Wimbledon twice. The Japanese star has been in decent form so far in 2021, with two Quarter-Finals appearances in Rotterdam and Dubai and will be hoping for a strong week here in Halle. He enters this match against Ricardas Berankis as the favorite and will be expecting to win here, advancing to the Second Round at the 2021 Halle Open.

Ricardas Berankis is currently ranked #84 in the ATP world rankings and enters the 2021 Halle Open as a Qualifier. The Lithuanian #1 was very solid in his two wins over Cedric-Marcel Stebe and Dennis Novak, and will enter the First Round encounter against Kei Nishikori full of confidence. He is coming into this tournament fresh off a career-best showing at the French Open where he reached the Third Round for the first time, and will be hoping to cause the upset here in Halle. Berankis enters this match as the underdog and will have to be at his absolute best against Kei Nishikori in order to get the win here.

The pair have met each other once before with Kei Nishikori winning on that occasion. I expect this match to have the same result, and the Japanese will advance to the Second Round here at the 2021 Halle Open without many issues. Ricardas Berankis is a very experienced player, but he has had nowhere near the success of his Japanese opponent, especially on this surface. Nishikori should win comfortably here and move on to the Second Round in straight sets.