Round one of the Cincinnati Masters will continue on Tuesday, when Frances Tiafoe kicks off his campaign against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. Tallon Griekspoor and Alex Michelsen are also taking the court.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. Frances Tiafoe
It felt like a five-setter against eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon third round could get Tiafoe going in 2024. Unfortunately for the world No. 26, that has not turned out to be the case. Tiafoe at least managed to reach the Washington, D.C. semifinals, but straight-set losses to Yoshihito Nishioka in the Atlanta quarterfinals and to Alejandro Tabilo right away in Montreal were major disappointments.
Up first for the American at the Western & Southern Open on Tuesday is a second meeting with Davidovich Fokina. Their only previous matchup came two years ago on the clay courts of Estoril, where Tiafoe prevailed 7-6(5), 5-7, 7-5. Unlike his opponent, Davidovich Fokina at least has an excuse in the form of back injury for his recent malaise. The 53rd-ranked Spaniard has returned from a brief absence for the hard-court swing and has reached the quarterfinals in Atlanta, the third round in Washington, D.C., and the third round in Montreal. None of his losses have been poor–three-setters against Jordan Thompson, Flavio Cobolli, and Matteo Arnaldi. Davidovich Fokina is simply the better player at the moment and Tiafoe may not regain motivation until the next Grand Slam rolls around in New York.
Pick: Davidovich Fokina in 3
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(Q) Alex Michelsen vs. Tallon Griekspoor
Michelsen was not a part of the Paris Olympics, so he took his talents back to North America immediately following Wimbledon and it has paid dividends. The 19-year-old American finished runner-up in Newport and advanced to the D.C. quarterfinals (lost to Cobolli in a third-set tiebreaker) before falling to Kei Nishikori in a three-setter at the Montreal Masters. Michelsen is already off to a good start in Cincinnati, where he qualified for the main draw by beating Zizou Bergs and Mackenzie McDonald.
It has been a much different summer for Michelsen’s first-round foe. Griekspoor went back to clay after leaving the All-England Club, winning just a single match combined in Bastad and at the Olympics (over Petros Tsitsipas). The 41st-ranked Dutchman has played only one hard-court match this summer, as he lost his Montreal opener to Lorenzo Sonego via a 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4 decision. Griekspoor scraped past Michelsen 7-6(5), 6-7(7), 6-4 in their only previous encounter at the Miami Masters this spring, but Michelsen looks poised to turn the tide.
Pick: Michelsen in 3
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Big Foe in a tough 3; Mson in 2.