Rafael Jodar vs Kei Nishikori ATP Washington Tips, Prediction & Live Stream - Jodar to ease past veteran

Andrew Hendrie

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Last updated: Wed 29 Jul 2026 01:41

Andrew Hendrie 1 hour ago

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Rafael Jodar vs Kei Nishikori predictions for Wednesday's ATP Washington R2 match
Jodar enjoying a brilliant season, winning 17 of last 22 matches
Nishikori to retire at season's end, coming off first tour-level win since last May
The match is scheduled to start around 10.00am AEST on Thursday July 20

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Rafael Jodar vs Kei Nishikori ATP Washington Tips, Prediction & Live Stream

Rafael Jodar continues to impress in his breakout year on tour and is backed for a convincing straight sets victory over Kei Nishikori, who is retiring at the end of the season and ranked outside the top 700.

Rafael Jodar vs Kei Nishikori ATP Washington Tips, Prediction & Live Stream
Jodar vs Nishikori Stats & Trends
Jodar vs Nishikori Head To Head
Rafael Jodar Form Analysis
Kei Nishikori Form Analysis
Jodar vs Nishikori Live Stream

Nishikori has stated that one of his main reasons for sticking around on tour over the last couple of years was the chance to play some of the new generation and his wish has been granted in Washington as he prepares to face 19-year-old rising star Jodar.

The Spaniard has bulldozed his way into the world's top 25 after a sizzling season, coming into this clash having won 17 of his last 22 matches.

Jodar registered a superb straight sets win over Arthur Fils in his Washington opener and he is a serious threat for the title this week.

Nishikori meanwhile managed to claim his first tour-level win of 2026, beating Jungcheng Shang in three sets, with both players coming back from injury problems.

Obviously Nishikori was a fantastic player and won this title back in 2015, but he's almost at the end of his career and asking him to challenge Jodar here feels like too much. The Spaniard is on fire and shouldn't have any trouble overpowering his opponent and advancing into the quarter-finals in straight sets.

Jodar vs Nishikori Stats & Trends

Jodar has won 17 of his last 22 matches
Jodar has won his last seven second round matches
Jodar is 6-1 vs players outside the top 100 in 2026
Nishikori has lost his last five tour-level second round matches
Nishikori has lost 15 of his last 17 matches vs top 20 players
Nishikori's last four completed defeats vs top 20 players in best-of-three have been in straight sets

Jodar vs Nishikori Head To Head

This will be the first career meeting between the pair.

Rafael Jodar Form Analysis

2026 ATP Record: 27-11
ATP Washington Record: 1-0
Current Ranking: No. 24
Career-High Ranking: No. 23 (June 2026)

Jodar's rise over the past 12 months has been nothing short of remarkable, having surged from outside the world's top 500 to inside the top 25.

The 19-year-old announced himself on the biggest stage with an impressive run at the 2025 Next Gen ATP Finals before carrying that momentum into this season. He captured his maiden ATP title in Marrakech, reached consecutive Masters 1000 quarter-finals in Madrid and Rome, and then produced his best Grand Slam result by advancing to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.

After an intense clay-court campaign, Jodar appeared to be feeling the effects at Wimbledon, but still enjoyed an encouraging grass-court debut by reaching the third round before falling to Shintaro Mochizuki.

Jodar - who played college tennis at the nearby University of Virginia - is back in action this week in Washington and played some brilliant tennis to beat Arthur Fils 7-6 6-3 in the opening round.

“It is my first time playing here and I knew the conditions would be tough, especially playing during the day. I did a great job handling it,” Jodar said post-match.

“There are many people from Virginia who came to watch my match and I am very grateful for everything they did and are still doing a great job and supporting me in all the tournaments I am playing around the world.”

Kei Nishikori Form Analysis

2026 ATP Record: 1-0
ATP Washington Record: 19-7
Current Ranking: No. 721
Career-High Ranking: No. 4 (2015)

After dealing with a relentless cycle of injuries, Nishikori has announced that he will retire at the end of 2026.

Nishikori made the US Open final in 2014 and hit his career-high ranking of No. 4 the following season, where he also won the Washington title.

The 36-year-old has barely featured at tour-level over the last few years due to those aforementioned injuries and in fact, played his first ATP match of the season in his Washington opener.

It was a match against another player who is dealing with his fair share of injury problems and Nishikori took full advantage, coming away with a 6-7(3) 6-3 6-4 over Juncheng Shang. It was Nishikori's first win since last May and now means he's won at least one tour-level match in every season since 2007.