Two years ago, Brandon Nakashima had just completed his first season of college tennis at the University of Virginia. With the Cavaliers, he earned ACC Freshman of the Year honors, went 17-5 in singles and was the ITA Atlantic Region Rookie of the Year.
In December 2019, Nakashima turned pro.
Now for a second consecutive week, Nakashima has clinched a spot in an ATP final, defeating Emil Ruusuvuori in three sets Saturday to advance to the Truist Atlanta Open final Sunday.
The 19-year-old competed in the Los Cabos final a week ago Saturday, his first final of his young career.
Nakashima will face former Georgia Bulldog John Isner in the tournament final Sunday.
For the second time this week, Nakashima rallied from a first-set loss. Finland’s Ruusuvuori quickly got out to a lead in the first set. Nakashima had an opportunity to win the point in the fifth game, but Ruusuvuori took advantage.
Nakashima was able to win the serve to cut into Ruusuvuori’s lead, but ultimately lost 6-3.
“It was tough at the beginning,” Nakashima said. “He came out playing really well, and I got off to a bit of a slow start.”
Nakashima responded from the first set well, using his crafty play, wielding the ball just over the net and dropping it just out of reach from the Fin. Going up 4-2, Nakashima made his opponent work, running across the court as he desperately tried to return Nakashima’s serve.
Ruusuvuori was able to reel in the 19-year-old to make it a 5-4 set, pumping his fist in celebration, a rare sight of emotion from Ruusuvuori.
The excitement for Ruusuvuori was short, as Nakashima won the second set on the next point to earn a third set against the 78th ranked player in the world.
“I’m feeling more and more comfortable out here,” Nakashima said. “I knew that in order to come back and win the match, I would have to pick up my serve a lot. Good thing I did and was able to get a few breaks.”
In between sets, Nakashima kept his mind at ease, closing out the limited crowd on hand and the expectations that might be amassing on his shoulders.
He looked at his towel in his hand, took a swig of water and took his place at the court for the third set of the match.
Nakashima explained what goes through his mind in the two-minute breaks between sets.
“Not too much,” he said while cracking a grin. “I’m just telling myself to stay focused out there, just stick to my game as much as possible. There are a lot of distractions and a lot of other things going through your mind, but I just try to stay calm, keep it simple and execute when I’m playing out there.”
With a determination and a sense that he had his opponent figured out, Nakashima returned and broke Ruusuvuori’s serve to open the third set.
Nakashima was comfortable and took a commanding 3-1 lead. He had to fight back from Ruusuvuori’s serve in the fourth game, emotionally breaking the Finn.
From there on it was smooth sailing for Nakashima.
“As I’m getting older with more experience and playing against these older top guys, it’s tough against them, but I’m doing pretty well managing the expectations, especially these past two weeks,” Nakashima said.
The expectations are self-made, but he’s still meeting them. He defeated Isner in the semifinals last week in Mexico.
At 19, he’s still enjoying the moment and his accomplishments.
“After every one of these matches, I’m just trying to soak it in as much as possible, just trying to enjoy the moment with my coaches and family,” Nakashima said. “I’m always looking forward to keep improving and working on my game in these tournaments.”
Earlier in the day, American Reilly Opelka and Italian Jannik Sinner defeated Spain’s Marcelo Arevalo and Mexico’s Miguel Angel Reyes-Varela in doubles action, to earn a spot in Sunday’s final. They’ll face the winner of Saturday night’s late match between Australians Alexei Popyrin and Matt Reid against American Steve Johnson and Australian Jordan Thompson.
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