Roger Federer will be in action in Cincinnati on Thursday, taking on the young Russian Andrey Rublev for a spot in the quarterfinals. Rublev’s countryman Daniil Medvedev, who finished runner-up last week in Montreal, battles Jan-Lennard Struff.
(3) Roger Federer vs. (Q)Andrey Rublev
Roger Federer will fight for a spot in the Western & Southern Open quarters against Russia’s Andrey Rublev. The sport’s elder sportsman and newly appointed member of the ATP Players Council is the No. 3 seed and trying for his eighth title in Cincinnati. The Swiss champion had a routine straight set win over Juan Ignacio Londero in the second round. Federer has three titles on the year but no slams in 2019 (Novak Djokovic has two, Rafael Nadal has one).
Andrey Rublev has one career title on his professional resume; he won Umag back in 2017. It’s in stark contrast to Federer’s 103 titles, three of which he won in 2019. At No. 70 in the world, Rublev is still considered an up-and-coming player, but he has had a couple of first-round losses to much lower ranked players in the two hard court events leading up to this week.
Federer has distinguished himself in Cincinnati over the years, and the Midwestern crowds are appropriately appreciative. The favorite should ease into the quarterfinals relatively comfortably.
Cheryl pick: Federer in 2
Ricky pick: Federer in 2
[polldaddy poll=10386303]
(9)Daniil Medvedev vs. Jan-Lennard Struff
Russia will be well represented in the third round, with No. 9 seed Daniil Medvedev also in action on Thursday. He joins countrymen Rublev and Karen Khachanov in the Cincinnati third round. Medvedev won the Sofia title this year, which he adds to his three tournament wins from 2018. The No. 9 seed earned his spot in the third round with straight-set wins over Kyle Edmund and Benoit Paire.
His opponent is the German Jan-Lennard Struff, who upset Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round. Struff doesn’t get the attention that his countryman Alexander Zverev commands, but he has moved his way up to the No. 36 ranking, up from No. 58 in January. Though Tsitsipas has been struggling of late, Struff still put on a good hard court display on Wednesday and he may well put Medvedev under some pressure.
This match could offer some high-quality tennis. Though Medvedev won both of their other tour-level matches, they were both competitive encounters that went three sets. Expect a fight with Medvedev just edging the German.
Cheryl pick: Medvedev in 3
Ricky pick: Medvedev in 2
[polldaddy poll=10386302]
Daniil Medvedev
David Goffin
Roger Federer 2-0
Combo @ 3.10
you go loose
Rublev will give Fed a VERY tough battle….but Fed in 3….and Med-Struff will also be close….Med in 3.
WWW?
Starting Capital: $10000
Diego Schwartzman
Daniil Medvedev
David Goffin
Roger Federer 2-0
$500 @ 4.25
Federer
Medvedev
$1000 @ 1.50
Monopoly money?
Well, many people who picked Fed over Rublev have not lost Monopoly money.
Fed didn’t recover from Wimby loss. That’s tough on him. He may never recover. If this happens, he’ll stop by the next season.
I’ve been so busy I didn’t have time to watch the Fed match until now. He was really bad, shanking balls right and left. But Rublev played great and didn’t crack toward the end, so all credit to him. Although it didn’t get him very far.
I think Roger was just rusty, and it was a bad day at the office against a guy who played lights out. But Fed will be alright, at least for awhile longer.