Seeds Alexander Zverev, Rafael Jodar, and Alejandro Tabilo will be on the third-round schedule at the Cincinnati Masters on Monday. Zverev faces Terence Atmane, while Jodar and Tabilo are going head-to-head.
(1) Alexander Zverev vs. Terence Atmane
Zverev and Atmane will be squaring off for the second time in their careers when they meet again in round three of the Cincinnati Open on Monday night. Their only previous encounter came this spring on the red clay of Madrid, where Zverev prevailed 6-3, 7-6(2). There is good news for Atmane, though, and it’s that he currently finds himself at what has to be considered his favorite tournament. The 46th-ranked Frenchman went all the way to semifinals last summer and so far this fortnight has dismissed Marton Fucsovics and Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Following a bye as the No. 1 seed, Zverev had to work overtime on Saturday night — or more like Sunday morning. The third-ranked German battled back to beat Cameron Norrie 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a match that ended after 2:00 am. Still, Zverev will benefit from a day off and from the fact that he played only one match in Montreal (lost to Tallon Griekspoor). The 29-year-old has reached at least the semifinals in four consecutive appearances in Cincinnati (including a title in 2021), and that trend very well might continue.
Pick: Zverev in 2
(12) Rafael Jodar vs. (22) Alejandro Tabilo
Jodar is coming off a semifinal run at the Montreal Masters, but he had enough left in the tank to survive one the wildest matches so far in Cincinnati. The 19-year-old Spaniard came back from 5-1 down in the third set and saved two match points to defeat Denis Shapovalov 7-5, 4-6, 7-5 on Saturday evening — all while dealing with an apparent calf issue throughout the third set.
Up next for Jodar on Monday is a third showdown against Tabilo, with the head-to-head series tied 1-1. Tabilo rolled 6-1, 6-2 at this year’s Indian Wells Masters before Jodar got revenge a couple of weeks ago with a 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-4 victory in the Washington, D.C. semis. Tabilo lost right away in Montreal to Hubert Hurkacz following his D.C. performance, but the 26th-ranked Chilean is well rested for Cincinnati and opened with a 6-3, 6-4 defeat of Jan-Lennard Struff. Despite being a sizable underdog, Tabilo clearly doesn’t mind this matchup. And unlike in D.C., it looks like the playing field won’t be entirely even given that fatigue has to be a factor in Jodar’s case.
Pick: Tabilo in 2
WWW?
Jodar dropped just 3 games. He is easily the best young player in the world.
It just amazes me Jodar is still motoring. He’s bound to hit the wall sometime but wow. At least everyone recently much engaged in deep tournament runs can have a week off competition before the US Open.