Cincinnati QF previews and predictions: Hurkacz vs. Popyrin, Zverev vs. Mannarino

Hubert Hurkacz and Alexander Zverev will have surprising quarterfinal opponents on Friday in Cincinnati. Hurkacz is going up against lucky loser Alexei Popyrin, while Zverev faces French left-hander Adrian Mannarino.

Hubert Hurkacz vs. (LL) Alexei Popyrin

Popyrin has been the luckiest of lucky losers at the Western & Southern Open. The 58th-ranked Australian received a spot in the main draw when Karen Khachanov and then got to play another lucky loser (Daniel Altmaier) in the first round thanks to Andy Murray’s withdrawal. After beating Altmaier 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-4, Popyrin got a withdrawal from Nicolas Jarry. Following his free pass to the last 16, the 24-year-old defeated Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to book a quarterfinal spot.

Up next for Popyrin on Friday is a third meeting with Hurkacz, who leads the head-to-head series 2-0. The Pole dominated both of their previous encounters on outdoor hard courts in the United States (both in Indian Wells)–6-1, 7-5 in 2021 and 6-3, 6-3 in 2023. That isn’t much of a surprise, as this is a terrible matchup for Popyrin. They have similar styles of play and Hurkacz does pretty much everything better. With the world No. 20 coming off an impressive 6-3, 6-4 beatdown of Stefanos Tsitsipas on Thursday, all signs point to this being one-way traffic.

Pick: Hurkacz in 2

Adrian Mannarino vs. (16) Alexander Zverev

Zverev vs. Mannarino at the 2020 U.S. Open was one of the defining moments of the Covid-19 pandemic era in tennis. Scheduled for a third-round meeting that year, there were reports that Mannarino would not be able to play due to having been in close contact with Benoit Paire–who then tested positive for the coronavirus. In the end, at the very last minute the Frenchman was allowed to take the court and he lost 6-7(4), 6-4, 6-2, 6-2.

Mannarino certainly wouldn’t mind if he never had to play this particular matchup ever again. He is a hopeless 0-7 lifetime against Zverev, including 3-16 in total sets. Things have been especially bad for the world No. 32 of late, as he has lost their last two meetings by combined set scores of 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, 6-1, and 6-0. Zverev also has momentum from a huge three-set victory over Daniil Medvedev on Thursday, as well, so the 17th-ranked German should absolutely roll into the Cincinnati semis.

Pick: Zverev in 2