Nakashima conquers Rune 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 to reach US Open second round
Brandon Nakashima from San Diego, California had fallen out of the top 150 as recently as October 2023. After winning a Challenger title at the start of the season, he has steadily reasserted himself and cracked the top 50.
The 23-year-old has gained confidence and ranking points throughout the season with impressive wins over Taylor Fritz, Denis Shapovalov, Tommy Paul, and Arthur Fils during the summer hardcourt swing. With Holger Rune’s recent struggles on and off the court, Nakashima was well positioned given his 2-0 lead in the head-to-head.
Rune two years younger, reached a career-high of #4 last August in large part due to his triumph over Novak Djokovic at the 2022 Masters 1000 event in Paris in addition to three other tour-level titles. Though he boasts a respectable 33-17 win/loss record this season, he appears distracted perhaps the result of recurring…
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