Brandon Nakashima v Denis Shapovalov Betting Tips [29 May 2023]

Number 26 seed Denis Shapovalov will be hoping for a better performance at this year’s Roland Garros. He faces the American Brandon Nakashima in the opening round, with the winner going on to face either Matteo Arnaldi or Daniel Elahi Galan in the second round. Shapovalov dropped out of the top 30 for the first time since 2019 after opting not to play at the Rome Masters. He bowed out in the first match of this competition last year and has only played on the clay three times since then. In his four Roland Garros appearances, Shapovalov has exited in the first round twice and has never made it past the second round. The Canadian has had a poor year to date and has failed to get past the second round in five of his last seven tournaments. The last time he featured in the third round of any tournament was at the Australian Open back in January. With a record of 7-9 for the year and 1-2 on the clay, his form arguably contradicts his seeding for this tournament. 

Brandon Nakashima has broken back inside the top 50, and comes into this tournament ranked 48th. In his first Roland Garros tournament last year, he reached the third round before losing to an in-form Alexander Zverev. The American came up just short in a nail-biting three-set battle against French teenager Arthur Fils in the semi-final in Lyon last week. However, he would not have had much time to dwell on that loss, with this match getting underway just 72 hours later. Nakashima had his share of injury issues this season, which would have affected his preparation for this tournament. However, his performance last week suggests that he's well on his way to improving his current record of 6-8 and 3-3 on the clay. The American did get the better of this opponent at Wimbledon last year and will now try to get one over him on the clay. 

Shapovalov is at risk of tumbling down the rankings if he is unable to put a few good runs together over the next couple of months. He’s been struggling to find his rhythm on any surface this year and will be given a thorough examination by Nakashima here. The American showed glimpses of his best in Lyon last week, and the court time would have done him a world of good. Our Brandon Nakashima v Denis Shapovalov prediction is: Brandon Nakashima to win the match.