America’s Brandon Nakashima is all set to start his campaign at the 2025 Dallas Open against Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka. The 23-year-old Californian looked quite impressive in the last season. He made quite a few long runs in 2024, and now, Nakashima would perhaps be looking forward to making a longer stay in Dallas as well.

Nishioka, on the other hand, didn’t have a great start to his season in 2024, but he did show a bit of flare in the later stages. Now, the question of the hour is: Can the Japanese upset Nakashima and silence the Dallas crowd on Wednesday?

Brandon Nakashima vs. Yoshihito Nishioka: Preview

Last year, Brandon Nakashima started the season with an SF run at the Challenger Canberra, AU. Then after that, he even clinched a title at the Challenger Tenerife, ES. It was then followed by his two impressive performances at the Challenger Koblenz, DE, and the ATP Houston. In Houston, he was defeated by his compatriot, Ben Shelton, by two sets in the QF.

Brandon Nakashima had even reached the SF at the Surbiton Trophy, Stuttgart Open, and the Hangzhou Open in 2024. However, in this season, he’s yet to bring up his A-game! Brandon Nakashima made early exits from Adelaide International and the 2025 AO. He’ll be entering this contest following his three-set defeat to Shelton in the first round of the AO.

Yoshihito Nishioka struggled a bit at the start of the season last year, but he managed to pull things back on track a bit from Eastbourne International. In Eastbourne, he reached the QF, but in that match, he was defeated by Australia’s Aleksandar Vukic in three sets. Then after that, Nishioka clinched a title at the Atlanta Open. He defeated another Aussie, Jordan Thompson, in the final. Finding consistency seems to be the biggest challenge for Yoshihito Nishioka at the moment. He was defeated by Carlos Alcaraz in the second of the 2025 AO by 0-6,1-6,4-6. Can he bounce back from that disappointing performance in Melbourne and make a winning start in Dallas?

Nakashima vs. Nishioka: Head-to-Head

Brandon Nakashima and Yoshihito Nishioka have met each other two times in their careers so far. Interestingly, their H2H record is currently well poised at 1-1.

• 2020 Delray Beach Open QF: Nishioka 3-6,7-6(5),6-4.
• 2024 Turin R32: Nakashima 6-4,4-3 (retd.)

Prediction: Nakashima to win in three sets

Both these players will be desperate to make a winning start to their campaign at the 2025 Dallas Open. However, Nakashima’s performance in the last twelve months, along with the home support in Dallas will make him a favorite in this epic battle! If we take a look at their record in 2024, Brandon Nakashima (42) had a win-loss record of 28-24, but on the other hand, Yoshihito Nishioka (67) had a win-loss record of just 21-20.

Yoshihito Nishioka is known for his counter-punching style of play. He often tends to bank on his quick movements and outstanding double-handed backhand to seal the deal in his matches. Apart from that, this left-handed tennis player is also a good returner of the ball and can use good angles of the courts, especially the short-cross courts. Nishioka is also known for his relentless innovation and ability to keep the ball in play.

Brandon Nakashima is more of a baseliner player, and his game is characterized by strong and flat strokes. He possesses a well-balanced game and also has excellent court coverage with a strong double-handed backhand. His serves are a perfect blend of power and precision and guess what? Nakashima hit 403 aces last season and committed just 53 double faults. Brandon Nakashima also has excellent court coverage ability. So, this young American literally possesses all the weapons to succeed on the fast hard courts, so we feel Brandon Nakashima’s firepower may well prove to be a bit too much for the Japanese in the epic encounter.