It was a fun start to the week at the ATP Cincinnati Masters, the first ATP level tournament since the resumption of the season. Only 16 players remain and all will be in action on day four in New York. As always, here at LWOT we will offer our predictions for all eight games, including Daniil Medvedev’s clash with qualifier Aljaz Bedene. But who will advance to the last eight?
Predictions of the fourth day of the ATP Masters Cincinnati
Jan-Lennard Struff vs. David Goffin
Head to head: Goffin 4-1 Struff
Jan-Lennard Struff made an excellent start to his Cincinnati Masters campaign. The German opened his campaign with a 6-2 6-4 win over world # 26 Alex de Minaur and backed him by beating 12th Seeded Denis Shapovalov for the fourth time in five fights. It was, however, a very close match, with Struff ultimately coming out the winner by 7-6 3-6 6-4 and this may have left him fatigued, both mentally and physically.
That doesn’t bode well for his chances against David Goffin, who reached the Cincinnati final last season. The Belgian appeared to be in good contact in his 6-4 7-6 win over Borna Coric in the second round and enjoyed his rivalry with Struff, winning four of his previous five fights. Struff is a dangerous player with formidable power and good hands on the forecourt, but he has struggled to put good performances together throughout his career and Goffin should be able to wear him down.
Prediction: Goffin in 3
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Novak Djokovic versus Tennys Sandgren
Head to head: Djokovic 2-0 Sandgren
World number 1 Novak Djokovic returned to play against Ricardas Berankis in the round of 16 after a bye in the first round. The Serbian, who won the Cincinnati Masters in 2018 and took the US Open title three times, was not entirely convincing, dropping his serve in the first set and breaking down twice in the second set. His neck also seemed to be giving him trouble, with the coach treating him twice. However, he was able to get a 7-6 6-4 victory.
But he will have to improve against two-time Australian Open quarter-final Tennys Sandgren. The American made a good start to the championship, beating Lorenzo Sonego 7-6 6-3 in the first round before upsetting the 15th seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-7 6-2 7-6, despite the Canadian served for the match in the third set. But he lost both of his previous fights with Djokovic, even though he took a set from the Serbian at the US Open in 2018. He may do it again, but more than seems unlikely even after Djokovic’s uncertain start.
Prediction: Djokovic in 3
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Andy Murray vs Milos Raonic
Head to head: Murray 9-3 Raonic
Andy Murray scored a big win over Alexander Zverev in the round of 32 to confirm his first round win over Frances Tiafoe. For a man who has played very little tennis in the past three seasons, this has been a very encouraging week. But the same could be said of his third-round opponent Milos Raonic. The Canadian is sometimes reduced to his great serve, but it should not be forgotten that he was ranked third in the world and is a former Wimbledon finalist.
Since 2017 he seems to have been struggling almost constantly with a succession of injuries, but the long hiatus of the season may have given him the chance to finally recover his physical form. He has certainly looked strong so far at the Cincinnati Masters, racking up straight set wins over Sam Querrey and Dan Evans, who shocked 10th seeded Andrey Rublev in the first round. However, he struggled his entire career against Murray.
In fact, the Scotsman inflicted some of the most painful defeats of Raonic’s career, including the 2016 Wimbledon final and Australian Open semi-finals and ATP finals. However, he beat Murray three times and appears to be in a good position to do so once again in New York this week. His serve worked well and he did damage with the forehand. Murray, meanwhile, will certainly be tired after long battles with Tiafoe and Zverev.
Prediction: Raonic in 3
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John Isner vs Stefanos Tsitsipas
Head to head: Isner 2-1 Tsitsipas
Stefanos Tsitsipas, who enjoyed a goodbye in the first round, did a brief job at visibly tired Kevin Anderson in his opening, beating the former world number 5 for a loss of just four games. But he will almost certainly be forced to work harder in the third round when he faces John Isner. The American scored a strong first round win, beating Hubert Hurkacz 7-5 6-4 and backed him up by battling a spirited John Millman, eventually ousting the Australian in the third set tiebreak.
That may leave him low on energy when taking on Tsitsipas, but Isner has a well-deserved reputation as a marathon runner. He also beat Tsitsipas in two of the previous three meetings, although it was the Greek who won the last time they faced each other, beating Isner 7-6 6-3 in their last eight in Beijing. In that match, he was able to take the sting out of Isner’s serve with a nice response from both flanks. A repeat of that performance should get him safe and sound to the quarterfinals.
Prediction: Tsitsipas in 3
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