What a difference a year makes. Last August, 19-year-old Brandon Nakashima was ranked No. 786 in the world. After his first-round win over Italian Paolo Lorenzi at the 2020 US Open on Monday, Nakashima is guaranteed to break the Top 200 next week, jump-starting what is sure to be a promising career on the ATP Tour.
He’ll be in action on Wednesday in his toughest career test yet, when he faces No. 5 seed Alexander Zverev in the second round. Here’s more on the San Diego native, who is on the verge of a breakthrough US Open in his Grand Slam debut.
Signs of his promise were on full display early this season
In his ATP Tour debut this year, Nakashima took a wild-card opportunity to dispatch Jiri Vesely and Cameron Norrie in straight sets at Delray Beach before falling to Yoshihito Nishioka in three sets. His run in Delray Beach made him the youngest quarterfinalist, at 18 years old, since Kei Nishikori won the event in 2008.
He displays qualities of a world No. 1 player
Nakashima has Pat Cash and Dusan Vemic in his corner as coaches, both of whom see striking similarities in his abilities when compared to current and former world No. 1s.
Cash claims that the youngster’s groundstrokes are reminiscent of a vintage Jimmy Connors.
“I got to be honest—I know Jimmy Connors’ backhand well,” Cash told the New York Post, “and when [Nakashima] played an exhibition in Santa Barbara, I told Jimmy, ‘I think it’s almost as good as yours—flat and hard, two-handed, along the same lines.’ Not many backhands like that on the tennis circuit. That’s old school.”
Full-time coach Vemic has also claimed that Nakashima has a “calmness and concentration in important moments” that are not unlike that of current No. 1 and three-time US Open champion Novak Djokovic. In fact, Nakashima was a hitting partner for Djokovic in the week prior to the 2020 US Open, which also served as a valuable learning opportunity for him.
“I warmed up with him every day,’’ Nakashima said. “It was great hitting with him, getting all his experience on the court and how well he hits the ball. We got closer after a couple of days of hitting, and I was able to ask him stuff and learn from him.’’
He’s a team player
This past summer, Nakashima joined the Chicago Smash in World TeamTennis, posting dominating wins over Jack Sock (5-0) and Tennys Sandgren (5-1) and helping his team reach the WTT final.
He was a college standout before opting to turn pro
Nakashima started his freshman year at the University of Virginia, where he was the ACC Freshman of the Year and carried a 17-5 record in singles and 20-3 in doubles. Not long after, he decided he would forego a college career and pursue tennis at the next level. Considering his long-term goals and confidence in his game, it could prove to be the right choice for the American.
“I just want to keep improving and keep doing well and developing my game to do well at the Grand Slams,” he said. “I want to be No. 1 in the world one day.”
