Day two at the ATP Cincinnati Masters should feature plenty of entertaining tennis with 11 first-round matches on the schedule in Ohio. As ever, we here at LWOT will be offering our predictions for every match, including Andy Murray vs Richard Gasquet and Alex de Minaur vs Filip Krajinovic. But who will reach the second round?
ATP Cincinnati Day 2 Predictions
Jannik Sinner vs Federico Delbonis
Head-to-head: first meeting
Jannik Sinner was upset by James Duckworth in the second round in Toronto, but that defeat can perhaps be explained by all the physical and mental energy he had spent winning the biggest title of his career to date just a couple of days before in Washington. With a full week to recover, he should have far too much for Federico Delbonis, who hasn’t won a main draw ATP match away from his preferred clay since last year’s Australian Open. Sinner will surely fancy his chances of a deep run this week and this shouldn’t be too big a challenge.
Prediction: Sinner in 2
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Yoshihito Nishioka vs Lloyd Harris
Head-to-head: first meeting
Lloyd Harris will be incredibly disappointed at the way he lost to Reilly Opelka in Canada, a match he surely feels he should have won although it does look more forgivable in the wake of the American’s run to the final. Harris has been in good form in recent weeks, beating Rafael Nadal in Washington, and his game is much bigger than Yoshihito Nishioka’s, who he should be able to overpower if he is at his best.
The Japanese, however, may also fancy his chances against an occasionally inconsistent big server he could outplay from the back of the court. He also has a good record at the ATP Cincinnati Masters, having made the quarterfinals in 2019 with wins over Jordan Thompson, Kei Nishikori and Alex de Minaur. While the outcome of the contest will be on the South African’s racket, this has the potential to be a very closely contested match.
Prediction: Harris in 3
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Brandon Nakashima vs Mackenzie McDonald
Head-to-head: Nakashima 1-0 McDonald
Both players have made excellent starts to the North American hard-court swing, but they have also both fallen just short when it has mattered most. Brandon Nakashima lost back-to-back finals in Los Cabos and Atlanta, while the following week Mackenzie McDonald came within an inch of the title at Washington but couldn’t close it out against Sinner after an epic win over Nishikori in the last four. Both players should be playing with plenty of confidence and looking to build on the momentum so expect a very tight match that could go either way. On this surface, Nakashima’s bigger game might just give him the slightest of edges, however.
Prediction: Nakashima in 3
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Marton Fucsovics vs Felix Auger-Aliassime
Head-to-head: Fucsovics 1-1 Auger-Aliassime
Both players reached the quarterfinals at Wimbledon after excellent runs where they upset top 10 opponents. Since then, however, Marton Fucsovics hasn’t even played a match, while Auger-Aliassime has been struggling, losing to lower-ranked opponents at the Olympics and in Washington and Toronto. He’s only managed one win since Wimbledon, and that was a close 3-setter against the semi-retired Andreas Seppi in Washington. With his talent, however, he’ll surely get back on track sooner rather than later. This might just be the perfect place for him to do just that.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 3
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