Cincinnati R1 previews and predictions: Rublev vs. Evans, Isner vs. Hurkacz

Doubles partners John Isner and Hubert Hurkacz will face each other in the singles first round on Sunday at the Western & Southern Open. Andrey Rublev and Dan Evans are also in action.

Dan Evans vs. (10) Andrey Rublev

Even though it feels like the season was just getting started when the coronavirus pandemic halted tennis for five months, Rublev and Evans have already squared off twice in 2020. They will make it three times on Sunday at the Western & Southern Open. With both men in stellar form at the time, they split a pair of meetings in Adelaide and Dubai (Rublev won 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 before Evans prevailed 6-2, 7-6(9)). They have also split a pair of Challenger Tour encounters, so the overall head-to-head series stands at 2-2.

For Rublev, especially, the 2020 campaign was shaping up to be an awesome one. The 14th-ranked Russian is sporting a 15-3 record with consecutive titles in Doha and Adelaide plus a fourth-round appearance at the Australian Open. Evans is 11-5 on the main tour and he also won the Battle of the Brits exhibition last month. This should be a great one, but Rublev’s superior firepower will likely be the difference on a quick court and he generally thrives during the American hard-court summer (the 2017 U.S. Open quarterfinalist upset Roger Federer en route to the Cincinnati quarters last year).

Pick: Rublev in 3

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(16) John Isner vs. Hubert Hurkacz

Isner and Hurkacz will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers on Sunday. Their only previous showdown came last summer on the hard courts of Washington, where Isner cruised 6-4, 6-4. As that result indicates, this is the 6’10” American’s favorite time of year. He is a five-time champion in Atlanta, a former Cincinnati runner-up, and a former U.S. Open quarterfinalist. Isner will find himself on the new Grandstand for this match, and he has already played on it almost 10 times in its four-year history.

Hurkacz went a decent 6-3 in nine exhibition matches during the hiatus, although he was arguably the favorite in all nine). The 29th-ranked Pole never really got going in the early stages of this season, losing four of his last five matches dating back to the Aussie Open second round. In this battle between Cincinnati doubles partners (they dominated their opening match on Saturday), conditions should give Isner an edge.

Pick: Isner in 3

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