There will be no rest for the weary, as gold medalist Andy Murray is scheduled for quarterfinal action against Bernard Tomic on Friday in Cincinnati. Fellow Croats Marin Cilic and Borna Coric are also aiming for a place in the semis.
(1) Andy Murray vs. Bernard Tomic
Murray and Tomic will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers when they meet in the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open on Friday. All four of their previous encounters have gone Murray’s way, and he has never even dropped a single set to Tomic. The Scot got the job done 6-3, 6-2 on the hard courts of Brisbane in 2012, 6-3, 6-1 at the 2013 Miami Masters, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 in a Davis Cup clash last season, and 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(4) earlier this year in round four of the Australian Open.
Coming off another gold medal in singles at the Rio Olympics, Murray has refused to throw in the towel in Cincinnati. The No. 1 seed opened with a 6-3, 6-2 rout of Juan Monaco before beating Kevin Anderson by the exact same score on Thursday night. A relatively surprising run by Tomic has featured wins over Joao Sousa, David Goffin, and bronze medalist Kei Nishikori. The 21st-ranked Australian is 28-19 for his 2016 campaign and he can snag a top 16 seed at the U.S. Open if he upsets Murray. But based on his past futility in this matchup and his opponent’s current 20-match winning streak, Tomic has the odds stacked against him in a major way.
Pick: Murray in 2
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(12) Marin Cilic vs. Borna Coric
It will be a showdown between Croatian Davis Cup teammates when Cilic and Coric battle for a spot in the Cincinnati semifinals on Friday. Their only previous clash came last year on the hard courts of Dubai, where Cilic dominated 6-1, 6-2. Despite having been dealt a tough draw this week, Coric has managed to give himself another shot at his higher-ranked countryman. The 19-year-old beat Benoit Paire in three sets during first-round action, upset Nick Kyrgios 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(6), and then took advantage of a hobbled Rafael Nadal to score a 6-1, 6-3 victory on Thursday.
Cilic won the Goran Ivanisevic Bowl on Thursday night, prevailing 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 over Tomas Berdych (now coached by Ivanisevic after the 2001 Wimbledon champion split from Cilic a few weeks ago). The world No. 14 preceded that result by destroying Viktor Troicki and Fernando Verdasco in easy straight sets. Amidst the fast conditions of Cincinnati, Cilic should be able to hit Coric off the court.
Pick: Cilic in 2
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Murray in 2 and Cilic in 3. Murray would have lost by now if he was feeling to tired to compete for the title here.
agreed
I have a feeling coric could win but at the same time Marin is still the favorite and has been playing very solid lately so I’m picking cilic in 3 and Murray in two cuz Murray is in god mode right now.
If Murray wins the whole thing (and he probably will) he’s gonna be just 800 points behind Novak in the race. I think he has a serious chance of getting year-end no.1. Even if not then he might jump past Novak during spring of 2017 because of Andy’s poor performance at this year’s Indian Wells and Miami.