Day three at the Cincinnati Masters, held this year at New York’s Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, should see plenty of entertaining action, with a host of star names set to take to the court, including four members of the top ten. As ever we here at LWOT are offering our predictions for all 14 matches, including Novak Djokovic vs Ricardas Berankis, Dominic Thiem vs Filip Krajinovic and Andy Murray vs Alexander Zverev. But who will book their place in the third round?
Cincinnati Masters Day Three Predictions
Daniil Medvedev vs Marcos Giron
Head-to-head: first meeting
Marcos Giron was excellent in his 7-6 7-5 first-round win over fellow qualifier and compatriot Mackenzie McDonald. He hung tough when under pressure and his reward is at least 45 ranking points and $43,450 in prize money. But he faces a daunting task in the second round where defending champion and third seed Daniil Medvedev awaits. The Russian won the biggest title of his career in Cincinnati last season and backed that up with a thrilling run to the final at the US Open.
He hadn’t quite hit his straps in the early weeks of 2020, losing in the fourth round at the Australian Open, and this will be his first outing since a quarterfinal defeat in Marseille mid-way through February. That may give Giron, who already has three matches under his belt in New York, confidence. However, it is hard to see him being able to either outlast Medvedev or hit through him. The Russian may take some time to find his feet, but expect him to reach the third round without too much trouble.
Prediction: Medvedev in 2
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Karen Khachanov vs Pablo Carreno Busta
Head-to-head: Carreno Busta 2-1 Khachanov
Both Karen Khachanov and Pablo Carreno Busta will surely be delighted with the manner in which they started their Cincinnati Masters campaigns. The Russian overcame the often dangerous and unpredictable Alexander Bublik relatively comfortably, dropping just eight games. Carreno Busta, meanwhile, who reached the US Open semifinals in 2017, recaptured some of that form in a convincing 7-5 6-1 win over world #23 Dusan Lajovic.
This looks likely to be a closer contest. Khachanov will likely look to play on the front foot, using his powerful forehand to dictate proceedings. But there are few who defend as effectively as Carreno Busta, particularly out of the corners, and the Spaniard is more than capable of hitting winners at the end of his range. However, he may need to take a more proactive approach than he typically looks to against Khachanov, as ceding the initiative to the Russian will almost certainly prove costly.
He was rather guilty of doing that in their most recent meeting which came in similar conditions at the Rogers Cup in 2018, with Khachanov recording a 6-4 7-6 win as a result. It was a mark of Khachanov’s improvements after he had lost both of their previous matches, including a year earlier in Montreal. And thanks to those improvements, notably to his backhand and movement, this is a match that Khachanov should win, although he will likely have to go the distance to do so.
Prediction: Khachanov in 3
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Richard Gasquet vs Roberto Bautista Agut
Head-to-head: Bautista Agut 5-2 Gasquet
Richard Gasquet showed his enduring quality in a 6-4 6-4 win over J.J. Wolf, who had played some excellent tennis in coming through the qualifying but was rather outclassed by the experienced Frenchman. But Gasquet will almost certainly face a sterner test in the second round when he steps on to court to face the ninth seed Roberto Bautista Agut, who last season reached the semifinals at the All England Club as well as the last eight in Melbourne.
Bautista Agut has also enjoyed the better of his rivalry with Gasquet, having won five of their seven matches. Gasquet did score a famous win over the Spaniard last season in the quarterfinals at the Cincinnati Masters, rallying from a set down to win 6-7 6-3 6-2. But it was a rare success for him and Bautista Agut avenged the defeat later that year at the Swiss Indoors, although Gasquet did take him the distance in Basel.
That suggests another close contest could be in the offing, particularly because Bautista Agut has not played competitively since suffering a surprise first-round defeat to Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round in Dubai in the last week of February. But it is not by chance that Bautista Agut has established himself as one of the leading lights of the men’s game. The Spaniard’s tireless legs and superbly accurate forehand make him a formidable foe. Expect him to prove too strong for Gasquet.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in 3
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Grigor Dimitrov vs Marton Fucsovics
Head-to-head: first meeting
Grigor Dimitrov negotiated a tough first-round test in the shape of Ugo Humbert adeptly, beating the Frenchman convincingly. But his task will grow no easier in the second round where he will come up against the in-form Marton Fucsovics. The Hungarian stormed through the qualifying without dropping a set and then dispatched the Slovakian Norbert Gombos comfortably, losing just seven games in a 6-3 6-4 win.
He used his forehand to good effect in that match, overpowering Gombos from the back of the court. But he may find it more difficult to hit through the athletic Dimitrov. The Bulgarian struggled in Flushing Meadows early in his career, but excelled in reaching the semifinals last season and looked assured in his win over Humbert. If he can find that level again, particularly on serve, he should have just about enough to find a way past Fucsovics.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3
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