John Isner will be back on the court for a second straight day when he faces Richard Gasquet in Cincinnati. Vasek Pospisil and David Goffin are also looking for a place in the third round on Wednesday.
John Isner vs. (8) Richard Gasquet
Isner and Gasquet will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they collide in the second round of the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday afternoon. Gasquet leads the head-to-head series 2-1, including 2-0 on hard courts. They most recently met at the 2012 Rogers Cup, where Gasquet prevailed 7-6(3), 6-3 in a semifinal showdown. This is the 11th-ranked Frenchman’s opening match in Cincinnati, as he earned the last of the first-round byes as the No. 8 seed. Gasquet is coming off a blowout loss to Novak Djokovic in Montreal, but he is still a stellar 34-13 for the season.
Isner is once again heating up during the American hard-court summer after a slow start to the year. The 6’10” American reached the semis in Newport, won the Atlanta title, then finished runner-up to Juan Martin Del Potro in Washington, D.C. Isner bounced back nicely from a first-round Montreal loss to Vasek Pospisil (in a third-set tiebreaker) by hammering Florian Mayer 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday. As if the world No. 22 needed any more confidence during his favorite time of year on his preferred surface, his performance against Mayer was extremely impressive. Gasquet has struggled ever since the French Open, so a big opportunity awaits Isner.
Pick: Isner in 2
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(Q) David Goffin vs. (SE) Vasek Pospisil
Maybe this month could be going better for Pospisil…like if he had just pulled out that third-set tiebreaker against Milos Raonic. Still, the 23-year-old Canadian made it all the way to the Montreal semifinals and he picked up a win over Gilles Simon on Tuesday in Cincinnati (Pospisil won the first set 6-3 before Simon retired at 1-1 in the second). Pospisil now owns exactly half of his 22 career ATP-level victories in 2013.
Up next for the world No. 40 is a first-ever meeting with Goffin, who dismissed unranked qualifier Mackenzie McDonald 6-1, 6-1 on Monday. Goffin has cooled off since his breakout 2012 campaign; in fact, he is a dismal 9-20 at the ATP level this year. Nonetheless, the 22-year-old Belgian is enjoying a stellar week–having qualified for the main draw before handling McDonald. Goffin, who also qualified in Montreal before succumbing to Tommy Haas, registers at No. 80 in the world. He will test his opponent’s patience with consistent play and a surprisingly big backhand, but Pospisil may have too much power in the end on a fast hard court.
Pick: Pospisil in 3
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