Australian Open preview and odds: Kei Nishikori vs Austin Krajicek

Published on: 19/01/2016

Australian Open preview and odds: Kei Nishikori vs Austin Krajicek

January 20 2016 11:00am - Margaret Court Arena

Australian Open - Round 2

Kei Nishikori will be hoping to progress beyond the quarter-finals of this tournament for the first ever time. But first he must dispose of good friend Austin Krajicek in the second round at Melbourne.

Kei Nishikori fresh after winter break

Kei Nishikori escaped unscathed from a potentially tricky first round encounter with Philipp Kohlschreiber. The World No. 7 seven took just under two hours to record a straight-sets victory over the 34th-ranked German. The Japanese player now faces an opponent that he knows well due to their off-the-court friendship.

Nishikori beat Austin Krajicek 4-6 6-3 6-4 in the only match that they have ever played at tournament level (Memphis Open) just under a year ago. His opponent had chances in that match and could push the former US Open finalist all the way if he is not at his best.

Krajicek looking to break top 100

Austin Krajicek has been knocking on the door of the top 100 for a while having peaked at 94 back in October. He got off to the perfect start in this event, brushing aside Di Wu in three sets with a 6-4 6-1 6-3 score line.

The left-hander now faces the difficult task of taking on one of the worlds top ten in the second round. The last time they met, the 25-year-old failed to capitalise on the 10 break points that he earned, converting just 20% of them. However, he does practice with the Japanese player and his knowledge of his game dynamics could produce another close match.

Betting odds and tips

Austin Krajicek has yet to claim a top-ten scalp but he has taken a set off Nishikori before. You can back Over 3.5 sets at 9/4 with Bet365.

By Neil Morris

Published on: 19/01/2016

Any odds displayed within this preview were correct at the time of publishing (19/01/2016 11:08:32) but are subject to change.