A couple of all-seeded showdowns are part of a jam-packed Cincinnati schedule on Wednesday, including Alexander Zverev vs. Tommy Paul. Alex de Minaur and Arthur Fils are also aiming for a place in the quarterfinals.
(1) Alexander Zverev vs. (18) Tommy Paul
Zverev and Paul will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers when they collide in round four of the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday afternoon. Paul leads the head-to-head series 2-1, but he has not defeated Zverev since 2022 and the German won their most recent meeting 7-6(1), 7-6(0), 2-6, 6-1 at the 2025 Australian Open.
When healthy, Paul has been very good — but it has been another season marred by occasional injury problems. The 24th-ranked American was just 3-4 in his last seven matches prior to arriving in Cincinnati, but he has advanced this fortnight with three-set victories over Hubert Hurkacz and Adolfo Daniel Vallejo. Zverev needed three sets to get past Cameron Norrie before beating 2025 semifinals Terence Atmane in a pair of tiebreakers. Paul may be hard pressed to even taken a set off the top seed, especially since a grand total of one point won in two tiebreakers against Zverev is quite alarming.
Pick: Zverev in 2
(21) Arthur Fils vs. (5) Alex de Minaur
When his body allows, Fils is quite simply one of the best players in the world — and has been dating back to the start of last season. However, he did not play in 2025 after the Toronto Masters and did not return until February of this year. The closing stretch of Fils’ 2026 campaign figures to be much different. The 21st-ranked Frenchman is coming off a quarterfinal performance in Montreal and has advanced in Cincinnati with defeats of Yannick Hanfmann and Jiri Lehecka.
Up next for Fils on Wednesday is a fourth encounter with De Minaur, who leads the head-to-head series 2-1 after most recently getting the job done 7-6(3), 6-2 on the indoor hard courts of Rotterdam earlier this year. Unfortunately for the eighth-ranked Australian, his best form has left him in the second half of this season. He has struggled mightily since getting upset by Kamil Majchrzak in the ‘s-Hertogenbosch final and was far from convincing even in Cincinnati victories over James Duckworth and Arthur Fery. Fils is playing with far more confidence and should secure his spot in the quarterfinals.
Pick: Fils in 2
WWW?
Jodar, Fils, Musetti walk into a bar.
Dimitrov had already been there for hours, clutching a bottle of Šljivovica.
Your Tiafoe picked turned out nicely yesterday. But in general I keep losing and losing and losing and losing lots and lots and lots of dollars. Why? I need money money money, and more money.