Tennis acca tips: Veterans Dominic Thiem and Kei Nishikori to roll back the years

Washington DC hosts both a WTA 500 and ATP 500 event this week, while there are events in Europe and the Americas on the go as well.

The ATP Tour stops off in Kitzbuhel, Los Cabos and Washington, while the WTA tour is also in Washington alongside the event in Prague.

Here we make two picks from the action at each event on Tuesday, 1 August, to help you build your accumulator.

ATP Kitzbuhel: Dusan Lajovic vs Zhizhen Zhang | Pick: Lajovic

ATP Kitzbuhel: Facundo Bagnis vs Dominic Thiem | Pick: Thiem

ATP Los Cabos: Alex De Minaur vs Skander Mansouri | Pick: De Minaur

ATP Los Cabos: Borna Gojo vs Christian Garin | Pick: Garin

ATP Washington: Lloyd George Harris vs Kei Nishikori | Pick: Nishikori

ATP Washington: Taro Daniel vs Thanasi Kokkinakis | Pick: Kokkinakis

WTA Prague: Barbora Strycova vs Ankita Raina | Pick: Strycova

WTA Prague: Heather Watson vs Jule Niemeier | Pick: Niemeir

WTA Washington: Bernarda Pera vs Leylah Annie Fernandez | Pick: Pera

WTA Washington: Qinwen Zheng vs Madison Keys | Pick: Zheng

Dusan Lajovic is fit again and ready to avenge his retirement loss to Zhizhen Zhang suffered at the French Open.

Lajovic had to withdraw from their French Open clash injured, handing the first meeting between the players to the Chinese player.

Zhang has been in good form of late, reaching the last four on clay in Hamburg last week.

However, all things considered, Lajovic should be able to turn the tables on his foe this time around.

Dominic Thiem is out to enjoy his home event but has a tricky first clash against handy clay courter Facundo Bagnis.

Thiem has gone 50/50 with Bagnis across their two previous meetings, both of which have come on clay.

Bagnis has had to come through the qualifying tournament and has already had to spend over four hours on court.

Thiem should be well rested, but there will be a question about his sharpness, having lost in the second round in Umag last week.

Alex De Minaur couldn't defend his Atlanta Open title last week but had a decent run in his attempt.

World No 296 Skander Mansouri awaits in the opening round for De Minaur in what will be the first meeting between the players.

De Minaur is still a top 20 player, and facing a player barely in the top 300 shouldn't prove an impossible task for the Australian.

Mansouri has lost 16 matches on hard courts this season, barely keeping himself above a 50 per cent win-loss record, while De Minaur is 10-5 on the surface.

Christian Garin will want to arrest a disappointing slide down the rankings having just dropped out of the top 100.

Garin's career-high ranking of No 17 is probably a closer reflection of his capabilities on Tour.

Borna Gojo is only a handful of rankings places behind Garin but has far less main draw experience this term.

Garin could move back into the top 100 with a win over Gojo in their first meeting.

Lloyd Harris and Kei Nishikori are both players who are beating the comeback trail with multiple injury worries plaguing the former national No 1s of South Africa and Japan.

Harris has shown glimpses of his best game but Nishikori will be tough to beat in the heat of Washington.

The Citi Open court can become a bit of an oven and that might just suit Nishikori, who moves better.

Nishikori and Harris are level at 1-1 in their head-to-head, with Nishikori winning their last meeting, which was coincidentally in Washington in 2021.

It has been more than four years since the last meeting between these players, but it could be that the last clash is still in the mind of Thanasi Kokkinakis.

Kokkinakis retired hurt in their meeting at his home event in Melbourne back in 2019.

On the strength of his serve, Kokkinakis had won the first meeting on the hard courts of Miami.

Kokkinakis' power could be decisive in this match if he executes his first-strike tennis well.

Barbora Strycova might have slipped right down the rankings but should be motivated to do well at what could be her last home event.

She faces qualifier Ankita Raina in the first round, but it should be noted that she holds a better ranking than the home player.

However, that rankings figure isn't going to be relevant in this context, with Srycova out for a big finish at home.

This will be the first time that Strycova will face Raina on the WTA Tour.

Heather Watson had a decent run last week, but it is a big ask for her to get beyond the powerful Jule Niemeier in her opening match.

Watson holds a 2-1 lead in their head-to-head history, but this will be their first clash on clay.

The Brit has won just two of her six matches on clay this term and should struggle against a player who grew up on the surface.

That familiarity with clay should offset the overall experience advantage held by Watson.

Pera comes into this match off the back of a run to the last eight in Hamburg, but she is back at home to take on a former Grand Slam finalist first up.

Fernandez is another player trying to work her way back into action, and she needed to come through the qualifying tournament.

Pera has been facing quality opponents on a more regular basis and should have the beating of Fernandez.

This will be the first time the players have met in a singles clash.

This could be the match of the day across all the elite events on Tuesday, 1 August.

Qinwen Zheng and Madison Keys have both won titles in recent outings on the WTA Tour and won't be thrilled to have to face one another this early.

This will also be the first meeting between the players adding an extra layer of difficulty.

There is little to choose between these players records on hard courts this season, but home advantage might give Keys the edge.