A tough second-round encounter on Wednesday in Cincinnati will pit Indian Wells doubles partners Milos Raonic and John Isner against each other. Meanwhile, David Goffin will continue his campaign with Bernard Tomic on the other side of the net.
(4) Milos Raonic vs. John Isner
Raonic and Isner will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday. Isner is sweeping the head-to-head series 3-0; he prevailed 7-6(9), 6-4 four years ago at the Rogers Cup, 7-6(5), 6-4 one season later in Cincinnati, and 6-7(3), 7-6(6), 7-6(5) last year in Miami. Although the scorelines may not indicated it, Isner has been broken by Raonic twice (in 40 total service games).
Although the American hard-court summer is Isner’s favorite time of year, the 2016 campaign has mostly been a disappointment for him. He is still a modest 23-15 and down at 22nd in the rankings despite recently advancing to the quarterfinals in Washington, D.C. and the final in Atlanta. Raonic finished runner-up at Wimbledon to Andy Murray before running into a red-hot Gael Monfils in the Toronto quarterfinals, resulting in a 6-4, 6-4 loss. The sixth-ranked Canadian is an awesome 39-10 for the season and currently in third place in the race to London. This should be Raonic’s time to finally get on the scoreboard against Isner, but as usual it will likely come down to just a few critical points at the end of each set. An important statistic to note is that Isner is just 24-24 in tiebreakers this year, 0-4 in his last four, and 0-6 in final-set ‘breakers.
Pick: Raonic in 3
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(11) David Goffin vs. Bernard Tomic
Rafael Nadal managed to avoid the fate that befell Goffin at the Rio Olympics, which was an upset loss amidst a crazed atmosphere against Brazilian favorite Thomaz Bellucci. Nadal, who recovered from a set deficit to beat Bellucci, had appeared to be in line for a third-round showdown against Goffin. Instead, the Belgian was bounced out of the tournament by Bellucci 7-6(10), 6-4 during second-round action. Still, it has been a simply outstanding season for Goffin. The world No. 13 boasts a 35-15 record that is highlighted by back-to-back semifinal performances in Indian Wells and Miami, and he registers at 11th in the race to London (virtually 10th with Roger Federer out for the year).
Goffin took care of Nikoloz Basilashvili 7-5, 6-3 on Tuesday and is now set for a third career meeting with Tomic. The head-to-head series is all tied up at one win apiece; Goffin got the job done 3-6, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 at Wimbledon in 2012 before Tomic exacted revenge in the form of a 6-1, 6-3 rout the following summer in Washington, D.C. Tomic booked his spot in the Cincinnati second round by coasting past Joao Sousa 6-4, 6-3 on Tuesday. The 21st-ranked Australian is simply not playing as well as Goffin right now and he may not want it as much, either.
Pick: Goffin in 2
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