On a packed day three at the Cincinnati Masters, there should be plenty of entertaining tennis, with a number of marquee names set to join the fray at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. 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 Daniil Medvedev vs Marcos Giron. But who will reach the third round?
Cincinnati Masters Day Three Predictions
Tennys Sandgren vs Felix Auger-Aliassime
Head-to-head: first meeting
Australian Open quarterfinalist Tennys Sandgren took full advantage of a winnable first-round draw, beating the Italian clay-court specialist Lorenzo Sonego 6-3 7-6. His reward is an intriguing clash with the highly rated young gun Felix Auger-Aliassime, seeded 15th in New York. The Canadian, after a slow start, looked very sharp in a 6-4 6-1 win over Nikoloz Basilashvili and will surely now be targeting a deep run at the Cincinnati Masters.
In truth, that performance was sufficiently impressive to suggest that Sandgren will be hard pressed to overcome the Canadian. Auger-Aliassime does not have a standout shot, but he can hurt opponents off both wings and covers the court well. His second serve can get him into trouble, but he managed it well against Basilashvili and has worked hard to improve. Sandgren will no doubt deliver a spirited performance, but there is a reason that Auger-Aliassime is ranked 35 places above the American.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 2
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Reilly Opelka vs Diego Schwartzman
Head-to-head: Opelka 1-1 Schwartzman
If this match is at all alike to their previous two clashes, it should be well-worth watching. Diego Schwartzman, who has been one of the ATP Tour’s most consistent performers over the past five years, began his campaign with an excellent 6-3 7-6 win over Norway’s Casper Ruud and he has enjoyed the conditions at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in the past, twice reaching the quarterfinals at the US Open.
But Reilly Opelka too made an assured start to his campaign at the Cincinnati Masters, dispatching the British qualifier Cameron Norrie 6-3 6-4. And with his booming serve and powerful groundstrokes, he is an opponent few will relish facing in North American conditions. That power was certainly too much for Schwartzman to contend with at the Miami Open in 2019, where Opelka scored a 6-4 3-6 6-4 win in the round of 64, which surely ranks amongst the finest of his career.
However, Schwartzman did beat Opelka at the Rogers Cup in 2017 and there are reasons to feel confident about the Argentine’s chances. There are few who return as well as Schwartzman and he is also amongst the best movers on the ATP Tour. He will have to take his chances on return and try to take the game to Opelka, who will otherwise be able to dictate, but Schwartzman can do damage on the front foot. Expect him to edge what could be one of the closest matches of day three.
Prediction: Schwartzman in 3
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Andy Murray vs Alexander Zverev
Head-to-head: Murray 1-0 Zverev
This is surely the headline clash of day three at the Cincinnati Masters. Andy Murray may not be the force he once was, but the signs over the past 18 months have been broadly encouraging and he may well have benefitted from the chance to rest and recuperate afforded by the suspension of the season. And if there were elements of his game that looked in need of work in his 7-6 3-6 6-1 first-round win over Frances Tiafoe, it was nonetheless an impressive performance overall from the Scot.
Alexander Zverev, meanwhile, arrives at the Cincinnati Masters as something of an unknown quantity. The German played some of the best tennis of his career in reaching the Australian Open semifinals, but suffered a surprising 3-6 4-6 loss to Tommy Paul in the second round in Acapulco in his next outing, which rather suggested that the old inconsistencies remain. He then hired former-world #3 David Ferrer as his coach whilst the season was suspended.
The Spaniard was one of the most determined and disciplined players of his era, which are not necessarily qualities one associates with Zverev. But if Ferrer, who has not travelled with Zverev to the USA, has instilled them in the German, he will be a hard man to beat. One area Ferrer will almost certainly have worked on is the German’s return game and second serve. Provided those improvements have taken hold, Zverev’s power should give him the edge over Murray.
Prediction: Zverev in 3
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Matteo Berrettini vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Head-to-head: first meeting
Matteo Berrettini found a rich vein of form in 2019, winning titles in Budapest and Stuttgart as well as reaching the semifinals at the US Open. That was enough to see the Italian finish in the top eight and secure a place at the ATP Finals. But he appeared to struggle with the increased pressure of his lofty ranking in the early weeks of 2020, losing to Tennys Sandgren in the second round at the Australian Open in his only tour-level outing of the season.
But he remains a dangerous opponent when he is on song, with deft touch in the forecourt and a powerful serve and forehand combination. Emil Ruusuvuori, his second-round opponent at the Cincinnati Masters, has impressed so far this week, coming through the qualifying before battling past the USA’s Sebastian Korda in three hard-fought sets. However, that match will surely have taken a great deal out of him mentally and physically. Expect Berrettini to take full advantage.
Prediction: Berrettini in 2
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