French Open champion Carlos Alcaraz will take on Hamad Medjedovic at the Cincinnati Masters on Tuesday. The third-round schedule also includes a showdown between Andrey Rublev and Alexei Popyrin.
(2) Carlos Alcaraz vs. Hamad Medjedovic
Carlos Alcaraz hasn’t played an event since he lost the Wimbledon final to Jannik Sinner–and it showed in his second-round win over Damir Dzumhur at the Western & Southern Open. The Spaniard was scratchy, dropping the second set before he righted the ship in the third. Cincinnati will be Alcaraz’s only event prior to the U.S. Open in a couple of weeks.
Hamad Medjedovic is ranked 72nd in the world. The Serb’s best result of the season (by far) came on the hard courts of Marseille, where he lost in the final to Ugo Humbert. Like Alcaraz, Medjedovic has played no other events since Wimbledon; unlike Alcaraz, he lost in the opening round at the All-England Club. His best results have come on hard courts, but a player of Alcaraz’s caliber is going to be a big ask. Despite Alcaraz’s slow start to the North American hard-court swing, look for him to advance in straight sets.
Cheryl pick: Alcaraz in 2
Ricky pick: Alcaraz in 2
(9) Andrey Rublev vs. (21) Alexei Popyrin
Andrey Rublev has endured an inconsistent season. The world No. 11 won the title in Doha, but his Grand Slam results have been lackluster. He was knocked out of the Australian Open in the first round and in the round of 16 at the French Open and Wimbledon. Rublev plays a ton of tennis; Cincinnati marks his 20th tournament of the season.
Unfortunately for Rublev, Alexei Popyrin is a known quantity for the Russian. Popyrin won their two most recent matches, both in 2024 in Monte Carlo and Montreal. Rublev is a player whose results reflect how much confidence–or lack thereof–he has. He at least made a good run to the quarters last week in Toronto, which bodes well for his form in Cincy. Interestingly, Popyrin also made the quarters in Toronto. He upset Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune last week, so he will be playing with confidence. With both men in decent enough form, look for this one to go the distance.
Cheryl pick: Popyrin in 3
Ricky pick: Rublev in 3
WWW?
Alc in two and Pop in a close three
Griekspoor poor right now
Alcaraz in 2, Really hard one to pick but Rublev in 3
a true 50/50 match
No, Rublev was a pretty nice fav.
Wouldnt have thought it by H2H or especially the score.
Always going to be a close one
And easy to be wise later
nah odds were pretty even
You must have be looking at some different odds cause they weren’t.
Carlos in 2; Rublev in 3
Result is Rublev in 3, 6-7(5), 7-6(5), 7-5.
Result is Alcaraz in 2 6-4, 6-4.