The final US Open Series Hard Court Masters Tournament, the Cincinnati Masters (Western and Southern Open) takes place this week in Cincinnati, Ohio as all of the the big names on tour except for David Ferrer and Kei Nishikori, both of whom are injuerd, will be taking part. Here is a look at players in-form for what is the final US Open tune up for most, and those who are struggling this summer.
Hot
5: Bjorn Fratangelo
The 22 year old Fratangelo is a young American to watch in Cincy, though he will likely lose round 1 to Jack Sock, who is also in good form. This summer he has a challenger final, and two challenger semifinals on the USTA Pro Circuit, and he’s won some big matches over Elias Ymer, and Frances Tiafoe most notably. Fratangelo is a solid clay court player as well, and to some extent he’s been passed over due to tennis in the States focusing on hard courts, but his hard court game is rapidly improving and he may be nearing a breakthrough. He gets a wild card here, and he could also make some noise at the US Open.
4: Alexander Zverev
Zverev is 15-10 on hard courts this season and the 18 year old continues to improve his game off of clay. He’s been in great form in his first two tournaments this summer, qualifying for Cincy and also reaching the quarterfinals in Washington with a notable win over Kevin Anderson. He’ll need to get past fellow young gun Borna Coric in the first round, but if he does, he’ll have a solid chance to upset Stan Wawrinka and score a big win in Cincy. It will be interesting to see how Zverev develops through the rest of the season.
3: Denis Kudla
Kudla continues his career best run of form this summer, and if he can beat fellow qualifier Vasek Pospisil in round 1 he will have a chance to upset Grigor Dimitrov on home soil. Kudla is an excellent ballstriker and should be able to keep the ball in play enough to give Grisha problems if he isn’t in control of his game. Overall this could be another good showing for the Atlanta semifinalist who also qualified in Montreal.
2: John Isner
Isner has been on fire this summer with a title in Atlanta, a final in Washington, and a quarterfinal in Montreal. Now in Cincy he has a legitimate case to reach the final depending on the form of Novak Djokovic. He’ll need to beat his countryman Sam Querrey first off, a player he doesn’t have a good h2h record with, and he’ll likely have to get through Tomas Berdych as well, but Djokovic will be his biggest test, and with the Serbian having some elbow problems, Big John will have a great chance for his third career win against the world #1.
1: Andy Murray
Murray won his second Masters title of the season, and his 11th Masters level title overall in Montreal, shaking off a poor match in Washington and catching fire with wins over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Kei Nishikori, before upsetting Novak Djokovic in the final. He moved up to world #2, is fit, and focused, and got a monkey off his back, beating Djokovic for the first time in two years. He may be somewhat fatigued for this tournament, but he could win it, and should at least make the semis, with Roger Federer looming. Murray has a great shot at the US Open title as well.
Cold
5: Kevin Anderson
Anderson may not be healthy and has suffered a pair of shock losses since reaching the second week of Wimbledon in both Washington and Montreal. Now he will have to face Leonardo Mayer round 1 in Cincy and is hoping to break his losing streak. Regardless the #15 seed, who normally plays well on North American hard courts is likely to exit in round 2 at the hands of Jack Sock. Kev showed some of his best play on grass earlier this summer, but right now he looks lost and rusty.
4: Richard Gasquet
Gasquet pulled out of Montreal, citing injury, and now he’ll have to battle Nick Kyrgios once more in the first round of Cincy. He has two wins over NK this year but he’s struggled to stay healthy outside of his Wimbledon semifinal, and the Frenchman with the gifted backhand could well be one of the first seeds to exit the tournament. Gasquet is in a precarious position ahead of the US Open.
3: Grigor Dimitrov
It’s been a rough season for the 24 year old Dimitrov, who remains in the top 20, but has barely made any noise this year. Grisha hasn’t shown much focus since the French Open and he’s just 2-2 on the US Open Series this summer, results that are well below a player of his caliber. He still has a chance to have a good tournament here and he did win his first match over Lukas Rosol, but regardless Dimitrov has been a massive disappointment this season, having failed to make his move into the top 10.
2: Milos Raonic
Raonic did not look to be on top of his game at home in Montreal, as the fan favorite lost to Ivo Karlovic in his first match. He’s shown signs of his top 10 caliber form since foot surgery during the clay season, but he has yet to get himself back to the level he was at earlier on in the Spring. His big serve still wins him matches, but lacking that extra gear, Raonic is not playing up to his ranking and could well be ousted by Feliciano Lopez in round 1. Lopez pushed him to five sets in Australia, and Rafael Nadal also looms in the third round. It’s unlikely that Raonic will have a memorable US Open Series this year.
1: Stan Wawrinka
Wawrinka retired in his last match against Nick Kyrgios, both out of injury and spite, after fireworks erupted between the pair, and overall he doesn’t appear to be entirely healthy right now. Stan the man likewise was in a slump back in the Spring, as he’s a rather streaky player for someone who has cemented themselves in the top 5. With that in mind he could well lose to Coric/Zverev in his first match, and it’s hard to see him having a good tournament with his poor form and no previous record of success at this tournament. When Wawrinka is on he’s an elite player, but when the wheels come off his performance drops well below his ranking and he’s extremely vulnerable, as his aggressive play can cause unforced errors.
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