Brandon Nakashima has made a beeline for the Top 25 after hiring Wayne Ferreira as his coach before the grass court season. The American has won 10 of 13 matches since, including semifinal runs at Queens and DC, and now he’s into his first career Masters quarterfinal at Montreal.
Today Nakashima braved hard-serving Arthur Rinderknech and a lengthy rain delay, returning to action at 4-4 in the final set to take three of the final four games for his 25th win of the season.
As of Saturday night, Nakashima is up to a career-high No.29 in the live rankings, and he could jump into the Top 25 if he can get past Italy’s Luciano Darderi in the quarterfinals.
Darderi defeated Nuno Borges earlier on Saturday, 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, to reach his first Masters quarterfinal on a hard court.
“Coming out after the break I knew I had to get firing right from the beginning because it’s gonna happen pretty quick,” Nakashima said. “Obviously, in the first game, he hit four big serves, so I couldn’t do anything there but I just tried to stay focused, and when I had the opportunities, I just tried to go for it.”
The 25-year-old American was 0-5 in Masters quarterfinals prior to today. He improved to 2-0 lifetime against Rinderknech with the win.
“I think the level is continuing to grow with each match,” Nakashima said. “Every day it’s a new opportunity out here – I try to make the most of it, and I’m super, super happy that it’s paying off.”
Chris Oddo. Chris Oddo is a freelance sportswriter, podcaster, blogger and social media marker who is a lead contributor to Tennisnow.com. He also writes for USOpen.org, Rolandgarros.com, BNPParibasOpen.com, TennisTV.com, WTAtennis.com and the official US Open program.