Brandon Nakashima will meet Arthur Fils in the Semi-Finals of the 2023 Lyon Open. The match will be played on Friday May 26th, 2023.
Brandon Nakashima is the 8th seed here at the 2023 Lyon Open and is ranked 52nd on the ATP Tour. The American hasn't had the greatest season, but is having his best week here, with a shot at reaching his first ATP clay court Final. After an impressive win over Diego Schwartzman in the First Round, he stunned fellow American Tommy Paul 6-3, 7-6 in a match where he served very well, and broke his opponent once to seal the match. Despite his young age he has the big edge in experience over Arthur Fils and will be backing himself to get over the line here.
Arthur Fils is unseeded here at the 2023 Lyon Open and is ranked 112 in the world. He has been outstanding this season albeit mostly on the Challenger Tour, but is definitely one to watch for the future. While his opponent Brandon Nakashima has the edge in experience, Fils certainly will be the fresher of the two as he benefited not only from Mikael Ymer being defaulted early on but Auger-Aliassime retiring in the first set in the Quarter-Finals. He has huge groundstrokes on both sides, and if he serves well and can keep his wits about him, he is in with a real chance of causing the upset here.
This match should be a cracker between two of the top young talents on the ATP Tour. It really can go either way, and while I think that Arthur Fils is the better prospect, I am giving the edge to Brandon Nakashima. Experience is a big deal late on in tournaments, and Nakashima has been to this stage before. I am expecting a three set thriller, but give me the experience and bigger serve of Nakashima when it matters most.
