There should be plenty of entertaining tennis on day two at the ATP Cincinnati Masters, with a number of exciting matches on the slate. Amongst those in action are Stefanos Tsitsipas, who takes on former-world #5 Kevin Anderson, and three-time Grand Slam semifinalist Grigor Dimitrov, who faces the talented young gun Ugo Humbert. But who will advance?
Cincinnati Masters Day Two Predictions
Tennys Sandgren vs Lorenzo Sonego
Head-to-head: first meeting
This looks like an interesting clash on paper. Tennys Sandgren may have needed a wildcard to gain his place in the main draw, but the American has established himself as an effective professional over the past few years and earlier this season reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open for the second time in his career. Indeed, had his nerves not rather overwhelmed him there, he might even have gone one better. Nonetheless, he is clearly not without hard-court pedigree.
That said, he has generally thrived on quicker surfaces than those found in the United States, with Sandgren at his best when he is able to take the ball early to compensate for his lack of outright power. Lorenzo Sonego, meanwhile, has also enjoyed success on faster courts, winning the only title of his career on grass in Antalya, but has looked most at home on the slower European clay, having won two Challengers and five Futures on clay in his native Italy.
Neither player is likely to be at their very best at the Cincinnati Masters as a result. Having not played in a tour-level match since February will also doubtless not help in that respect and a slightly scrappy affair seems likely. But that may well give Sandgren a decisive, if slight, edge. He has the advantage of playing at home, even if he will not be able to call upon the support of the crowd, and he has shown himself to be a very determined competitor. Expect him to outlast Sonego.
Prediction: Sandgren in 3
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Mackenzie McDonald vs Marcos Giron
Head-to-head: McDonald 1-0 Giron
After a 2019 campaign blighted by injuries, world #271 Mackenzie McDonald took a wildcard into the Cincinnati qualifying and quickly set about reminding his colleagues on the ATP Tour of his quality. McDonald, who has been ranked as high as 57th in the world, opened his campaign with a 7-6 6-3 win over Yuichi Sugita before booking his place in the main draw with a hard-fought 6-7 7-5 7-6 win over Dominik Koepfer. If he was rusty, he is surely match sharp now.
Marcos Giron, ranked 102nd in the world, also had to work hard for his place in the main draw in Cincinnati. Giron, who like his compatriot McDonald enjoyed a successful college career, has also experienced a fair share of injury trouble, having had surgery on both hips, and has been forced to battle hard to climb up the rankings towards the top of the game. To reach the main draw at the Cincinnati Masters, he beat Laslo Djere 6-3 6-2 before edging out Gregoire Barrere in three.
But he lost his only previous match against McDonald, which came in 2017 at an ITF Futures event in Los Angeles. And although much has changed for both men in the interim, it would not be a surprise to see that result repeated. There is relatively little between them, both in terms of their ability and their style of play. But McDonald, at his best, is just that bit quicker around the court and can inject that much more power into his groundstrokes. Expect him to edge it.
Prediction: McDonald in 3
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Aljaz Bedene vs Cristian Garin
Head-to-head: first meeting
Cristian Garin will surely be targeting a strong end to the season. The Chilean remains, primarily, a clay-court specialist, but he has shown an increasing aptitude for playing on the asphalt of late and the fundamentals of his game are good enough that he should be able to win matches at tour-level wherever he plays. Particularly effective is his forehand, which though not hugely powerful is exceptionally accurate and typically hit with heavy topspin.
However, he faces a tough opening test in Cincinnati in the shape of Aljaz Bedene. The Slovenian should be sharp after navigating a path into the main draw through the qualifying with wins over Denis Kudla and Dennis Novak, with the Austrian taking him the distance. But will that be enough for Bedene against a player of Garin’s quality? Perhaps not. Bedene is good enough to challenge the 13th seed, but expect Garin to be the man to reach the second round.
Prediction: Garin in 3
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Karen Khachanov vs Alexander Bublik
Head-to-head: first meeting
Karen Khachanov, seeded 11th in Cincinnati, has not perhaps kicked on quite as many would have hoped after his triumph at the Paris Masters back in 2018. That said, he is still ranked inside the world’s top 15 and he remains a dangerous opponent for anyone thanks to his thunderous power from the back of the court. However, he may well need to keep his wits about him when he steps on to court to take on Alexander Bublik of Kazakhstan.
Bublik is one of the more enigmatic performers in the men’s game and has a real love for the spectacular, but he also has some fine shots, not least his serve. With the courts at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center appearing to help big servers, as demonstrated by excellent wins for Reilly Opelka and Kevin Anderson on day one, Bublik will be looking to his serve to carry him to what would be one of the finest wins of his fledgling career.
But although Bublik has it in him to win this match, it is hard to see him actually doing so. For one thing, Khachanov has a big serve of his own and the Russian appears to enjoy playing in Flushing Meadows, despite losing in the first round last season. Perhaps the bigger problem for Bublik is that his movement will be exposed by Khachanov. The 11th seed looks to play on the front foot and dictate, and whilst Bublik may land some blows of his own, Khachanov’s strikes should be the more telling.
Prediction: Khachanov in 2
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