Day 4 of the ATP 1000 in Cincinnati features a loaded slate of matches, with a popcorn battle between Alejandro Davidovich Fokina and Novak Djokovic on offer. We cover that here as well as a strong lineup of other intriguing matches for you. We also predict the rest of the day’s matches, split between two articles–featuring Stefanos Tsitsipas vs Ben Shelton and Holger Rune vs Makenzie McDonald. But who will get the wins?
ATP Cincinnati Day 4 Predictions
Jannik Sinner vs Dusan Lajovic
Head-to-Head: First meeting
Fresh off his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto, Jannik Sinner will be looking to continue the red hot streak that has propelled him to the biggest title of his career. The Italian No. 1 who turns 22 today has had one of his best seasons on tour so far despite having to overcome different injury challenges over the last 8 months so far. Dusan Lajovic secured his third main draw win on hard courts in the first round on Monday against Francisco Cerundolo. He would need all the encouragement he can get from that match as Jannik Sinner will be a massive step up in the quality of opposition here.
Sinner will be looking to solidify his position as one of the favorites going into the US Open and I don’t see Dusan Lajovic doing much to quell that momentum here.
Prediction: Sinner in 2
Max Pucell vs Casper Ruud
Head-to-Head: First meeting
Casper Ruud has been having a forgettable summer so far, a reflection of his overall performance through our the season. After his second round exit at Wimbledon, he took to the European clay events to try and get some wins under his belt and came away with a finals loss to Rublev in Bastad and a quarterfinals finish in Hamburg. This is a far cry from the high standards he had set in prior seasons. After falling to Davidovich Fokina last week in Toronto, Ruud will be hoping for a deeper run here.
Max Purcell backed up his run of two solid wins in qualifying matches here with a routine win over the out-of-form Lloyd Harris. He would fancy his chances against Ruud and be certainly come out swinging for the win. Ruud won the first and only time these two met, in the qualifying rounds of the US Open in 2018 in straight sets.
Prediction: Purcell in 3
[cta id=4013 type=cta]
Lorenzo Sonego vs Taylor Fritz
Head-to-Head: Sonego 2-4 Fritz
Taylor Fritz had to dig deep in the first set tiebreak, saving five set points, in his Round 1 match against Jiri Lehecka. He stayed in control from that point onwards and closed out the match in straight sets. He would be hoping to defend his quarterfinals showing from last year and would fancy his chances here against Sonego.
Lorenzo Sonego got the better of the talented Russian Alexander Shevchenko in three sets in round one. The win should do a lot of good for his confidence coming into this match and will see him probably push Fritz to his limit for a set.
Prediction: Fritz in 2
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Novak Djokovic
Head-to-Head: Davidovich Fokina 1-3 Novak
Novak Djokovic will face a tricky test when he steps on court in North America for the first time in two years. This would also be his first match since failing to defend his Wimbledon title last month against Carlos Alcaraz. He would be looking to put that defeat and the off court drama that has kept him from competing at these events since 2021 behind him.
Davidovich Fokina is coming off a semifinal run in Toronto and has backed that up with a straight sets win against Tomas Martin Etcheverry in Round 1. He got his sole win over Novak last year in Monte Carlo and repeating same would seem an impossibility to the fearless Spaniard.
This might be the right sort of match Djokovic needs as he gets his US Open preparation underway but he will need to stay at the top of his game if he is to avoid defeat here.
Prediction: Djokovic in 3
Main Photo Credit: Susan Mullane-USA TODAY Sports
