There should be plenty of entertaining tennis on day four at the Cincinnati Masters, held this year at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York due to ongoing restrictions imposed by the coronavirus pandemic. All 16 men left in the draw will be in action and we here at LWOT are offering our predictions for all of the eight matches on the slate, including Novak Djokovic vs Tennys Sandgren. But who will reach the quarterfinals?
ATP Cincinnati Masters Day Four Predictions
Daniil Medvedev vs Aljaz Bedene
Head-to-head: first meeting
Aljaz Bedene has excelled so far at the Cincinnati Masters. In the first round, he finished strongly to upset the 13th seed Cristian Garin 6-4 6-7 6-0 and he followed that with a 7-6 7-5 win over American #2 Taylor Fritz. But he is set to face a stern task in the third round when he takes on defending champion Daniil Medvedev, who made his name with a thrilling run to the title in Cincinnati last season, highlighted by a semifinal win over Novak Djokovic.
He did endure a difficult start to the 2020 season, with his efforts in Melbourne disappointing. But he appears to have refreshed mentally whilst the season was suspended and looked sharp in dispatching the American qualifier Marcos Giron in straight sets in his opener after a first-round bye. Bedene will likely offer more resistance, with his forehand a shot to be feared, but it is hard to see him causing Medvedev too many problems.
Prediction: Medvedev in 2
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Karen Khachanov vs Roberto Bautista Agut
Head-to-head: Bautista Agut 4-2 Khachanov
This could prove to be one of the more entertaining clashes of the third round at the Cincinnati Masters. Karen Khachanov has not quite kicked on since winning the 2018 Paris Masters, but he has looked in good nick so far in New York. In the first round, the Russian saw off the challenge of Alexander Bublik, winning 6-4 6-4, and he backed that up with a very creditable 7-6 6-1 win over 2017 US Open semifinalist Pablo Carreno Busta.
Roberto Bautista Agut, who is coming off a career-best season in 2019, enjoyed a first-round bye as the eighth seed in New York. He made a good start to his campaign with a 7-5 6-1 win over Richard Gasquet, eventually outmanoeuvring the Frenchman. Will he be able to do the same to Khachanov? The Russian has more power than Gasquet and he has been using it to good effect, which suggest that this will be a difficult day for Bautista Agut.
But there are few who move better than the eighth seed. His flat forehand is also a very dangerous shot, one that a player as good as world #1 Djokovic has struggled to deal with and it has obviously caused Khachanov real problems as well. He has, after all, lost four of the six matches he has played against Bautista Agut. The conditions in New York should help him, but Bautista Agut will be the favourite going into this match and rightly so.
Prediction: Bautista Agut in 3
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Matteo Berrettini vs Reilly Opelka
Head-to-head: first meeting
Do not expect too many long rallies in this match. Both Matteo Berrettini and Reilly Opelka are at their best when playing on the front foot and looking to end points quickly with a big winner. Berrettini, who enjoyed a breakthrough 2019 highlighted by a run to the US Open semifinals, made slightly hard work of his opener against the qualifier Emil Ruusuvuori, failing to serve out the match in the second set. But he rallied to take it late in the third, completing a 6-4 6-7 7-5 win.
Opelka, meanwhile, began his campaign with a solid 6-3 6-4 win over the qualifier Cameron Norrie and backed that up by upsetting Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman. And that should give him real confidence when he takes to the court against Berrettini. It will, however, be a different challenge for the American, who will have little opportunity to develop any rhythm. That should favour the Italian, who is more comfortable moving forward and playing in the forecourt.
Prediction: Berrettini in 3
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Marton Fucsovics vs Filip Krajinovic
Head-to-head: Krajinovic 2-0 Fucsovics
This should be a very good match. Filip Krajinovic, after a good first-round win over the Italian qualifier Salvatore Caruso, was exceptional in his 6-2 6-1 win over Australian Open and second seed Dominic Thiem. The Serbian lost just two points on serve, relentlessly hitting his spots and keeping Thiem off-balance with well-timed forays to the net. Of course, Thiem was not at his best, but it was nonetheless a hugely impressive performance from Krajinovic.
And he does have form at Masters 1000 tournaments having reached the Paris Masters final in 2017 as a qualifier. But Marton Fucsovics has been playing some fine tennis in his own right. The Hungarian qualifier began in the main draw with a solid 6-3 6-4 win over Norbert Gombos, before battling past former-champion Grigor Dimitrov. Fucsovics will surely be particularly pleased with how well he finished that match, as he was able to step up his level and take it away from the Bulgarian in the decider.
However, he has lost both of his previous matches with Krajinovic, although both came on the clay and neither were played at tour-level. Nonetheless, it does suggest that this is a match-up he does not enjoy. Krajinovic should also benefit from the quick, low-bouncing courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. If he can move Fucsovics around with his forehand and prevent the Hungarian from dictating from the centre of the court, Krajinovic should be able to secure a spot in the last eight.
Prediction: Krajinovic in 3
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