Analysis for Nishikori-Reynolds (ATP Brisbane)

Head-to-head record 1:2

American qualifier Bobby Reynolds will play Japanese No.1 Key Nishikori in the opening round at Brisbane. Nishikori started the last year by reaching the semifinals of the Miami challenger tournament. He then entered the Delray Beach tournament as a qualifier ranked 244. He gained entrance to the main draw by defeating Nicolas Todero and Alex Bogomolov Jr. In the first round, he defeated Florian Mayer due to a retirement in the second set. In the second round, Nishikori defeated Amer Delic, another qualifier. In the quarterfinals he won against Bobby Reynolds. In the semis he upset Sam Querrey. In the final, Nishikori upset number one seed James Blake in three sets, to become the first Japanese man in nearly 16 years to win an ATP event. This was his career best result and he eliminated among others Bobby Reynolds on his way. He than added several bad results in a row and came back at 2008 US Open where he reached the round of 16. However, the decline in form has come after the US Open and Nishikori has not been as impressive since that time. He is considered to be very talented but inconsistent player. On the contrary, his opponent Bobby Reynolds had the stellar end of the year 2008 which he ended up by winning at challenger tournament in Knoxville. He has excellent footwork and footspeed on all surfaces unlike other players of his height. American played his career best last year and feels comfortable within these conditions which he proved in qualifiers here. We think he will be very competitive today and odds above 2 can be taken here.