Australian Open 2022: Matteo Berrettini vs Brandon Nakashima preview, head-to-head & prediction

Match Details

Fixture: (7) Matteo Berrettini vs Brandon Nakashima

Date: January 17, 2022

Tournament: Australian Open 2022

Round: First Round (Round of 128)

Category: Grand Slam

Surface: Outdoor Hard

Venue: Melbourne Park, Australia

Prize Money: $75,000,000

Live Telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | UK - Eurosport | India - Sony Six, Sony Liv

Matteo Berrettini vs Brandon Nakashima preview

Seventh seed Matteo Berrettini will open his 2022 Australian Open campaign against promising American Brandon Nakashima.

The Italian started his 2022 season with a disappointing defeat at the hands of Alex De Minaur at the ATP Cup. He bounced back by defeating Ugo Humbert, but was then beaten by World No. 2 Daniil Medvedev, after which Italy were eliminated from the competition.

Berrettini will be looking to use the first week in Melbourne to gain some match sharpness. The Italian has been placed in the same half of the draw as defending champion Novak Djokovic, but if the Serb is not allowed to compete due to problems with his visa, the draw could open up for Berrettini.

Brandon Nakashima at the 2021 Next Gen ATP Finals

Nakashima, meanwhile, had a strong finish to his 2021 season. The 20-year-old broke into the top 100 and is currently ranked 68th in the world.

The American's standout result last season was in Atalanta, where he reached the final. He also reached the quarterfinals in Antwerp and the semifinals of the Next Gen Finals.

Nakashima started his 2022 season with a couple of straight-sets wins over Jiri Vesely and Fabio Fognini in Sydney, before losing to second seed Reilly Opelka.

Matteo Berrettini vs Brandon Nakashima head-to-head

The first-round match at the Australian Open will be the first encounter between Matteo Berrettini and Brandon Nakashima, so their head-to-head currently stands at 0-0.

Matteo Berrettini vs Brandon Nakashima prediction

Matteo Berrettini at the 2022 ATP Cup

Matteo Berrettini is the favourite on paper, but Brandon Nakashima has the tools to cause an upset. The American's biggest strengths are his movement and return, and he is also adept at redirecting pace from the baseline. He will look to prolong rallies and frustrate Berrettini into making unforced errors.

The Italian, for his part, enjoys dictating proceedings with his huge first serve and powerful forehand, both of which gathered steam during his run at the ATP Cup. If he begins to find the range on his groundstrokes, there is little Nakashima will be able to do to keep up.

Ultimately, Berrettini's firepower and Grand Slam experience should help him get through this contest.

Prediction: Matteo Berrettini to win in four sets.