A tough third-round matchup on Thursday in Cincinnati will pit Andy Murray against John Isner. Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic are also looking for a place in the quarterfinals.
(8) Andy Murray vs. (11) John Isner
Murray and Isner will be colliding for the third time in their careers when they do battle in round three of the Western & Southern Open on Thursday. Both of their previous meetings have gone Murray’s way; 7-6(4), 6-3, 6-2 at the 2010 Australian Open and 7-5, 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(2) in the 2011 quarterfinals. Isner, though, is now a staple of the top 15. The 2013 Cincinnati runner-up is in the midst of his favorite time of year. He has not been completely on fire this summer, but the 6’10” American at least captured a title in Atlanta and he made routine work of Kevin Anderson and Marinko Matosevic in his first two matches this week.
Whereas Isner really needs a win to defend some of his points, Murray could use some momentum heading into the U.S. Open. The ninth-ranked Scot lost listlessly to Grigor Dimitrov in the Wimbledon quarterfinals and he won just a single match last week in Toronto before bowing out to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Murray is 33-13 for the year after easing past Joao Sousa 6-3, 6-3 in the second round on Thursday. The two-time major champion has fallen prior to the quarters of this event twice in a row, but the conditions in Cincinnati suit Isner perfectly.
Pick: Isner in 3
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(3) Stan Wawrinka vs. (14) Marin Cilic
Cilic and Wawrinka will be facing each other for the ninth time in their careers on Thursday. Wawrinka leads the head-to-head series 6-2, but they have split their four hard-court encounters at two wins apiece. They most recently squared off earlier this season on the clay of Monte-Carlo, where Wawrinka dominated 6-0, 6-2. The Australian Open champion, however, has cooled off in recent months. He lost his opening match at Roland Garros and after a Wimbledon quarterfinal appearance he fell in the Toronto third round to Anderson. Wawrinka opened on Tuesday with a 6-3, 7-6(5) victory over Benjamin Becker.
It has been an outstanding season for Cilic, who boasts a 40-15 record after sitting out four months during the second half of last year due to suspension. The 19th-ranked Croat reached the Wimbledon quarterfinals (lost to Novak Djokovic in five sets) and is coming off a third-round showing at the Rogers Cup (lost to Roger Federer in three sets). So far in Cincinnati, he has taken out Spaniards Feliciano Lopez and Fernando Verdasco. All signs point to a huge hard-court summer for Cilic and it should continue into this week’s quarters.
Pick: Cilic in 3
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