Day 3 at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati will see a lot of Round 2 action, including the return to the circuit of recent Olympic Gold Medalist Alexander Zverev, who skipped Canada last week, as well as the debut of 2013 finalist John Isner (playing a Round 1 match).
We also predict the rest of Tuesday’s ATP Cincinnati matches, split between three other articles. They feature Roberto Bautista Agut vs Grigor Dimitrov, Benoit Paire vs Denis Shapovalov, and Matteo Berrettini vs Albert Ramos-Vinolas.
ATP Cincinnati Day 3 Predictions
John Isner vs Cameron Norrie
Head-to-head: Isner 1-1 Norrie
Isner has been in very good form this summer so far. He reached the final in Los Cabos, won title in Atlanta, and reached a semifinal last week in Canada. Cincinnati has historically been a happy hunting ground for Isner, who’s notched victories over the likes of del Potro and Djokovic at this tournament en route to the 2013 final, where he came very close against Nadal, and reached the semifinals in 2017. He’ll surely be feeling confident, but won’t have an easy task; Norrie has been a winning machine all year, with only Tsitsipas and Djokovic notching more wins than the Brit so far this year (37). Norrie might not have any big weapons but he’s very consistent and will punish Isner if he’s even a bit off.
Prediction: Isner in 3
Alexander Bublik vs Marcos Giron
Head-to-head: first meeting
Bublik played eventual champion and world #2 Daniil Medvedev very close last week in Canada, but he’s incredibly inconsistent and it’s hard to predict how he will play from match to match. He starts as a slight favorite but it feels like anything could happen when Bublik is involved. Giron will certainly fancy his chances.
Prediction: Bublik in 3
Alexander Zverev vs Lloyd Harris
Head-to-head: Zverev 1-0 Harris
You’d normally favor Zverev in this matchup, but shockingly the German has never won a match in Cincinnati; he’s lost all six main draw matches he’s played plus one qualifying match in 2014. You have to imagine he’ll break this streak at some point, but it might not be today; Harris is a very dangerous opponent on this surface with his serve and might well produce the upset here. He’s already shown the ability to beat higher rated opponents several times this year and has a great chance to do it again here.
Prediction: Harris in 3
Main Photo from Getty.
