Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will be back in action two days after capturing the Toronto title when he takes the court against Mikhail Youzhny on Tuesday in Cincinnati. Marin Cilic and Feliciano Lopez are also contesting a tough first-round matchup.
(12) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. Mikhail Youzhny
Two days after completing an incredible run to the Rogers Cup title by defeating Roger Federer in the final, Tsonga will kick off his Western & Southern Open campaign. The success in Toronto came just about out of nowhere for the 10th-ranked Frenchman, who preceded his upset of Federer with additional top-10 wins over Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, and Grigor Dimitrov. Tsonga had previously been a mere 24-13 for the season with no appearances in a Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Up first for Tsonga in Cincinnati is Youzhny, against whom he is 3-3 lifetime. They have not faced each other since 2012 and they have never squared off in the United States. With quarterfinal points to defend coming up at the U.S. Open, Youzhny needs some momentum as badly as Tsonga needed it prior to last week. The 25th-ranked Russian is just 11-16 this year and he is 1-4 in his last five matches dating back to the Stuttgart semifinals. A solid ball-striker, Youzhny will not make life easy on Tsonga and may show signs of capitalizing on a fatigued opponent. In the end, though, a suddenly-confident 12th seed should have too much firepower.
Pick: Tsonga in 3
[polldaddy poll=8240314]
Feliciano Lopez vs. (14) Marin Cilic
This is one of the rare instances in which a seeded player (Cilic) is ranked lower than his unseeded opponent (Lopez). That’s because Lopez completed his run to the Toronto semifinals after the Cincinnati draw had already been made, at which point the Spaniard climbed from 25th in the world to No. 16 (passing Cilic). As for the matchup, the two in-form players will be going head-to-head for the fifth time in their careers on Tuesday. They have split their four previous encounters, three of which have gone the three-set distance. They most recently collided last summer on the grass courts of Queen’s Club, where Cilic prevailed 4-6, 7-6(5), 7-5.
Cilic is coming off a third-round showing at the Rogers Cup, where he succumbed to Federer in a wild three-setter. Lopez also went down to Federer (in more routine 6-3, 6-4 fashion) after taking out Roberto Bautista Agut, Tim Smyczek, Tomas Berdych, and Milos Raonic. The 32-year-old is 32-19 for his 2014 campaign, while Cilic is an impressive 38-15. Ranked 19th in the world, Cilic is on top of his game and what transpired in Toronto may benefit him at this event. Quite simply, he is the more well-rested competitor.
Pick: Cilic in 3
[polldaddy poll=8240320]
Leave a Reply