Such is the condensed and crammed in nature of the sporting world at present, the next Masters 1000 event begins before the current one concludes as the Western & Southern Open starts the ATP Cincinnati event on Sunday despite the final of the ATP Toronto event yet to be played.
This tournament was one which did take place last year although because of the Covid restrictions it was moved to New York where Novak Djokovic won the title. It is back in Cincinnati this year but Djokovic does not return to defend the title so we are guaranteed a different winner.
Recent Winners
2020 – Novak Djokovic
2019 – Daniil Medvedev
2018 – Novak Djokovic
2017 – Grigor Dimitrov
2016 – Marin Cilic
2015 – Roger Federer
2014 – Roger Federer
2013 – Rafael Nadal
2012 – Roger Federer
2011 – Andy Murray
The Format
The ATP Masters 1000 format is pretty well known these days. 56 men will make it into the main draw with the top eight seeds automatically progressing through to the second round. The other 48 men compete in the first round to join them. Every match in the tournament from start to finish is the best-of-three sets with a tiebreak in the third set to decide the contest. The champion will be determined in the final on the second Sunday of the competition.
Top Quarter
Daniil Medvedev is the last man to win this tournament in Cincinnati and it is he who will be the top seed this week. He is in the final of the event in Toronto though so his energy reserves might be tested to the full over the course of the week. There are three other seeds in the top quarter with Pablo Carreno Busta, who has a pretty good record in August in recent times and was of course the Olympic bronze medallist recently, Hubert Hurkacz and Roberto Bautista Agut the other three seeds in this section.
The qualifiers have still to be placed in the draw at the time of writing this preview but there are some pretty big unseeded names in this section even before they come in. Andy Murray was given a wildcard into the main draw and he’s in this quarter while Alexander Bublik, former champion Grigor Dimitrov and Jan-Lennard Struff are all players who would be seeded in a Grand Slam or be very close to being seeded.
Second Quarter
Another Russian is the leading seed in the second quarter of the draw as Andrey Rublev heads up this section of the tournament. In terms of winning titles and things he’s gone a little quiet recently with the exception of the mixed doubles gold medal he won at the Olympics. That might well keep Denis Shapovalov interested although the Canadian will need to play a lot better than he did in Toronto last week if he is going to make an impression. The danger to all could be the Washington winner Jannik Sinner while the other seed in this section is Alex de Minaur who might be outgunned.
There are big names and British interest among those who aren’t seeded in this quarter too. The Briton on show is Cameron Norrie, who might fancy his chances over the course of the week given the season he is having. The bigger names would include the former US Open champion Marin Cilic, Gael Monfils who arrives here off the back of a run to the quarter final in Toronto, Aslan Karatsev and the Toronto semi-finalist John Isner.
Third Quarter
The third quarter looks wide open although the Olympic champion Alexander Zverev commands plenty of respect. This is the first time he has graced the courts since winning in Tokyo though so there might be something of a comedown. Casper Ruud is the other main seed in this quarter but he is clearly more comfortable on a clay court. That might open the door up for the other two seeds who are Diego Schwartzman and the 2019 finalist David Goffin who is looking for a huge injection of form.
There is British interest in this quarter as well as Dan Evans is in this part of the draw looking for his first win in the US Open series after immediate losses in Washington and Toronto. Reilly Opelka is the man who will go up against Daniil Medvedev in the Toronto final on Sunday and then he’ll make his way to take his place in this third quarter alongside the likes of Frances Tiafoe, Ugo Humbert and the Italian maverick Fabio Fognini.
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Bottom Quarter
Stefanos Tsitsipas was beaten in the semi-final in Toronto last week and he’ll look to go a couple of steps better as the leading light in the bottom quarter this week. He could come up against the refreshed Italian powerhouse Matteo Berrettini in the quarter final, although the other two seeds in the section will hope to have a bit to say about that. They are Felix Auger-Aliassime and the Chilean number one Cristian Garin.
This is another quarter where there are some standout players among those who aren’t seeded in the draw. It is also the only one where there isn’t any British interest. Three qualifiers still have to be placed in this quarter but already there are the Olympic silver medallist Karen Khachanov and the promising home pair of Taylor Fritz and Sebastian Korda. Marton Fucsovics is another who will be competing in this quarter.
Outright Betting
I’ll go with a player in each half of the draw this week as none of the big three are in the field. It might be that Daniil Medvedev is the one to beat but after a heavy week in intense conditions in Toronto I’m happy to take him on in the top half where I think Jannik Sinner could be the man to be with. Sinner won in Washington before Toronto and that was his first ATP 500 title which is always a momentous occasion in a career of any player which probably explained why he was very ordinary in Toronto last week. He’s clearly hitting the ball well though. He had some decent wins along the way in Washington and only lost the one set all week so I fancy he’ll go well here. He is up to 15 in the world and when you think three of those in the rankings above him aren’t in action here he has the potential to be a leading light this week.
I’ll also take a punt on the Olympic finalist Karen Khachanov who has been in decent nick for a while. Before he went to Tokyo he made the last eight at Wimbledon and I love winning momentum at this stage of a season because we are at the stage of the year where players are carrying niggles and injuries but they don’t feel as painful when you are winning tennis matches. At Wimbledon and in Tokyo, Khachanov knocked off the likes of Seb Korda, Frances Tiafoe, Diego Schwartzman, Ugo Humbert and Pablo Carreno Busta so he’s in decent touch and wins over Cam Norrie and Aslan Karatsev in Toronto last week before defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas proves he’s still going well. He might be overpriced at 50/1.
Quarter Betting
The draw has a very open feel to it this week so I’m more than happy to get involved in the other two quarters as well, especially the top quarter where you have to think Daniil Medvedev might run out of gas at some point. That might open things up for Roberto Bautista Agut who has a pretty decent record in these North American ATP 1000 events in recent times. He has reached the last eight of the last six Masters 1000 events in Miami, this one and Canada, including semi-finals in this last year and Miami earlier in the year. Some of those had stronger fields than this one so at 15/2 the classy Spaniard might be the value pick to the number one seed here.
The third quarter is the other one to get stuck into. Alexander Zverev is probably a worthy top seed in it but you would think he’ll be all about the US Open in two weeks rather than going all out to win here. This might be an exercise in adjusting to American conditions and keeping his arm turned over so I’m happy to take him on too. What I like about this quarter is the second highest seed Casper Ruud doesn’t look to be a threat at all even though the Norwegian has won three ATP 250s in the last month or so. They were all on clay though and he isn’t as strong on a hard court. I think it might be worth taking a chance on Diego Schwartzman who is another who tends to go well at this time of year despite you thinking a hard court wouldn’t suit him. He isn’t in the half that Zverev is in this quarter so he wouldn’t meet him until the last eight so there is plenty of time for the German to depart by then. Even if he hasn’t, Schwartzman has a US Open win over Zverev so he wouldn’t be without a chance of beating the Olympic champion. At the prices I think there is mileage in supporting the Argentine here.
Tips
Back J.Sinner to win Western & Southern Open (e/w) for a 1/10 stake at 26.00 with BetVictor (1/2 1-2)
Back K.Khachanov to win Western & Southern Open (e/w) for a 0.5/10 stake at 51.00 with BetVictor (1/2 1-2)
Back them here:
Back R.Bautista Agut to win 1st Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 8.50 with Coral
Back D.Schwartzman to win 3rd Quarter for a 1/10 stake at 10.00 with Coral
Back them here:
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