Draw:
(1) Rafael Nadal v BYE
Taylor Dent v Feliciano Lopez
Michael Llodra v Julien Benneteau
Stanislas Wawrinka v (14) Almagro
(11) Cilic v Marcos Baghdatis
Thomaz Bellucci v Benjamin Becker
Paul-Henri Mathieu v Victor Hanescu
BYE v (7) Tomáš Berdych
(3) Roger Federer v BYE
Denis Istomin v (WC) James Blake
Horacio Zeballos v Philipp Kohlschreiber
Qualifier v (16) Monfils
(10) Ferrer v Alexandr Dolgopolov
Sam Querrey v Philipp Petzschner
(WC) Robby Ginepri v Somdev Devarman
BYE v (6) Davydenko
(8) Verdasco v BYE
Gilles Simon v (WC) Mardy Fish
Michael Berrer v Tommy Robredo
Richard Gasquet v (12) Mikhail Youzhny
(13) Melzer v Santiago Giraldo
Ernests Gulbis v (WC) Donald Young
Florian Mayer v Jeremy Chardy
BYE v (4) Andy Murray
(5) Soderling v BYE
Lleyton Hewitt v Lu Yen-Hsun
Juan Monaco v Thiemo De Bakker
Sergiy Stakhovsky v (9) Andy Roddick
(15) Ljubicic v David Nalbandian
John Isner v Lukasz Kubot
Radek Stepanek v Viktor Troicki
BYE v (2) Novak Djokovic
Preview:
The second of back-to-back Masters Series events is officially underway as Cincinnati plays host of the last major tournament before the US Open begins. Roger Federer is the defending champion after last year knocking off Novak Djokovic, the Serbians second runner-up showing here in as many years. No player has repeated the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati double since Andy Roddick did so back in 2003, so Andy Murray will set out to achieve the rare accomplishment. Play began yesterday with a solitary main draw singles match completed, Cilic losing first up once again to Baghdatis.
Cincinnati is Nadal’s worst performed Masters tournament given that not once has he reached the final, something he’s managed to do in every other MS event. He’ll be looking to break that drought which will give him any confidence he might lack heading into New York. First up will either be Dent or Lopez and in the third he might run into Stanislas Wawrinka for the second week running, although Almagro is the seed in his immediate bracket. His QF opponent will likely come from Baghdatis or Berdych; the latter reached this stage in 2009. The big news is that Nadal and Federer are both on the top half of the draw and could set up a SF showdown which would interestingly enough be their first hard court clash since the 2009 Australian Open final. There’s no question Nadal was rusty in Toronto but I find it unlikely that he’ll suffer from the same problem this week. Cincinnati hasn’t proven to be kind, but I’m thinking he’ll at least reach the final.
Andy Murray regained much needed form and confidence in his impressive run to the title in Toronto and in doing so re-established himself as a major contender in NY. He won this title in 2008 and appears to have quite a reasonable draw this time around. In many ways the main question will be how hard does he want to push himself? The weather is often overwhelming in Cincinnati and Murray may want to keep as much in reserve as possible heading into the years last Slam. Either Chardy or Mayer is first, and one of Gulbis or Melzer will be his 3R opponent. Should Gulbis make it that far and should Murray survive that challenge, I don’t see a huge threat coming in the Quarters. Verdasco is out of form, Youzhny isn’t a danger, I think Mardy Fish will be the surprise from this section. If Murray’s treating this tournament seriously then I see no reason why he wouldn’t at least reach the Semi’s.
Roger Federer is a three time champion at this event but despite his past here and impressive signs in Toronto, I don’t see him claiming a fourth. Istomin or Blake will be his first opponent; in the past I could’ve seen a Blake upset on the cards, but he’s not the same player he was. These days it’s almost as though Federer is content with only putting effort into one tournament prior to an upcoming Slam and perhaps Toronto was it. On paper his draw should offer him a cake walk through to the Semi’s, there don’t appear to be any dangerous floaters in his section and Davydenko is horribly out of touch. He showed a tremendous fighting ability in Toronto and just as long he’s willing to put forward the same work ethic here, he’ll set up that clash with Nadal. If he loses before the Semi’s, it’ll be obvious that he got all the preparation he wanted from Toronto.
For the past two years second seed Novak Djokovic has fallen at the final hurdle in Cincinnati and although he has a couple of tricky customers in his section of the draw, I see him giving himself a real shot at contesting the final again. He shouldn’t be troubled in his first match, but I’ve got him down to face Isner in the third, a tough match-up, but it could also be Ljubicic or even Nalbandian. In the Quarters he’ll likely face Soderling who should be a little better prepared than he was in Toronto, and Andy Roddick’s also in this section, but given he’s been suffering from glandular fever, it’s hard seeing the two time champion doing much damage this time around. Djokovic impressed in Toronto, he could’ve lost early when he was suffering breathing difficulties, but he toughed it out and with a bit of luck could’ve reached the final. I see a SF appearance with Murray.
Once again it’s hard seeing a winner come from outside the top 4 seeds as not enough players beyond this group have the talent or the form to win a title this significant. The only players I’d give slight chances to are Berdych and Soderling. Only Berdych’s nerve let him down from reaching the Semi’s in Toronto while Soderling should enjoy the bounce this tournament offers. Roddick’s ill and clearly struggling, Davydenko is in a similar boat, while Verdasco is a shadow of the player he was back in April. Querrey’s still yet to prove a thing at this level but you’d have to imagine that surely he’s due for some sort of breakthrough? Lleyton Hewitt’s back after a minor hiccup but has a tough draw and is defending QF points. Pick of the first round matches is probably Almagro vs Wawrinka.
Prediction: Djokovic def. Nadal.
I keep going back and forth between who I think will win but for me it’s one of three, Nadal, Djokovic or Murray. I just don’t see Federer winning; I think he’ll be satisfied with his work in Toronto, although his draw is the most favourable of the top 4 seeds. I’ve gone for Nadal in the draw challange, but thinking about it realistically, I think Djokovic is ready to win here. Although the second of back-to-back Masters Series often yields many unexpected results, I think as it was in Toronto, the top four seeds will be playing off in the Semi’s. I can’t mount a case for anyone outside of this group because no one’s form warrants it. After seeing Novak demolish Nadal at this tournament last year, I think should the two meet again it’ll be the same result.
(1) Rafael Nadal v BYE
Taylor Dent v Feliciano Lopez
Michael Llodra v Julien Benneteau
Stanislas Wawrinka v (14) Almagro
(11) Cilic v Marcos Baghdatis
Thomaz Bellucci v Benjamin Becker
Paul-Henri Mathieu v Victor Hanescu
BYE v (7) Tomáš Berdych
(3) Roger Federer v BYE
Denis Istomin v (WC) James Blake
Horacio Zeballos v Philipp Kohlschreiber
Qualifier v (16) Monfils
(10) Ferrer v Alexandr Dolgopolov
Sam Querrey v Philipp Petzschner
(WC) Robby Ginepri v Somdev Devarman
BYE v (6) Davydenko
(8) Verdasco v BYE
Gilles Simon v (WC) Mardy Fish
Michael Berrer v Tommy Robredo
Richard Gasquet v (12) Mikhail Youzhny
(13) Melzer v Santiago Giraldo
Ernests Gulbis v (WC) Donald Young
Florian Mayer v Jeremy Chardy
BYE v (4) Andy Murray
(5) Soderling v BYE
Lleyton Hewitt v Lu Yen-Hsun
Juan Monaco v Thiemo De Bakker
Sergiy Stakhovsky v (9) Andy Roddick
(15) Ljubicic v David Nalbandian
John Isner v Lukasz Kubot
Radek Stepanek v Viktor Troicki
BYE v (2) Novak Djokovic
Preview:
The second of back-to-back Masters Series events is officially underway as Cincinnati plays host of the last major tournament before the US Open begins. Roger Federer is the defending champion after last year knocking off Novak Djokovic, the Serbians second runner-up showing here in as many years. No player has repeated the Rogers Cup and Cincinnati double since Andy Roddick did so back in 2003, so Andy Murray will set out to achieve the rare accomplishment. Play began yesterday with a solitary main draw singles match completed, Cilic losing first up once again to Baghdatis.
Cincinnati is Nadal’s worst performed Masters tournament given that not once has he reached the final, something he’s managed to do in every other MS event. He’ll be looking to break that drought which will give him any confidence he might lack heading into New York. First up will either be Dent or Lopez and in the third he might run into Stanislas Wawrinka for the second week running, although Almagro is the seed in his immediate bracket. His QF opponent will likely come from Baghdatis or Berdych; the latter reached this stage in 2009. The big news is that Nadal and Federer are both on the top half of the draw and could set up a SF showdown which would interestingly enough be their first hard court clash since the 2009 Australian Open final. There’s no question Nadal was rusty in Toronto but I find it unlikely that he’ll suffer from the same problem this week. Cincinnati hasn’t proven to be kind, but I’m thinking he’ll at least reach the final.
Andy Murray regained much needed form and confidence in his impressive run to the title in Toronto and in doing so re-established himself as a major contender in NY. He won this title in 2008 and appears to have quite a reasonable draw this time around. In many ways the main question will be how hard does he want to push himself? The weather is often overwhelming in Cincinnati and Murray may want to keep as much in reserve as possible heading into the years last Slam. Either Chardy or Mayer is first, and one of Gulbis or Melzer will be his 3R opponent. Should Gulbis make it that far and should Murray survive that challenge, I don’t see a huge threat coming in the Quarters. Verdasco is out of form, Youzhny isn’t a danger, I think Mardy Fish will be the surprise from this section. If Murray’s treating this tournament seriously then I see no reason why he wouldn’t at least reach the Semi’s.
Roger Federer is a three time champion at this event but despite his past here and impressive signs in Toronto, I don’t see him claiming a fourth. Istomin or Blake will be his first opponent; in the past I could’ve seen a Blake upset on the cards, but he’s not the same player he was. These days it’s almost as though Federer is content with only putting effort into one tournament prior to an upcoming Slam and perhaps Toronto was it. On paper his draw should offer him a cake walk through to the Semi’s, there don’t appear to be any dangerous floaters in his section and Davydenko is horribly out of touch. He showed a tremendous fighting ability in Toronto and just as long he’s willing to put forward the same work ethic here, he’ll set up that clash with Nadal. If he loses before the Semi’s, it’ll be obvious that he got all the preparation he wanted from Toronto.
For the past two years second seed Novak Djokovic has fallen at the final hurdle in Cincinnati and although he has a couple of tricky customers in his section of the draw, I see him giving himself a real shot at contesting the final again. He shouldn’t be troubled in his first match, but I’ve got him down to face Isner in the third, a tough match-up, but it could also be Ljubicic or even Nalbandian. In the Quarters he’ll likely face Soderling who should be a little better prepared than he was in Toronto, and Andy Roddick’s also in this section, but given he’s been suffering from glandular fever, it’s hard seeing the two time champion doing much damage this time around. Djokovic impressed in Toronto, he could’ve lost early when he was suffering breathing difficulties, but he toughed it out and with a bit of luck could’ve reached the final. I see a SF appearance with Murray.
Once again it’s hard seeing a winner come from outside the top 4 seeds as not enough players beyond this group have the talent or the form to win a title this significant. The only players I’d give slight chances to are Berdych and Soderling. Only Berdych’s nerve let him down from reaching the Semi’s in Toronto while Soderling should enjoy the bounce this tournament offers. Roddick’s ill and clearly struggling, Davydenko is in a similar boat, while Verdasco is a shadow of the player he was back in April. Querrey’s still yet to prove a thing at this level but you’d have to imagine that surely he’s due for some sort of breakthrough? Lleyton Hewitt’s back after a minor hiccup but has a tough draw and is defending QF points. Pick of the first round matches is probably Almagro vs Wawrinka.
Prediction: Djokovic def. Nadal.
I keep going back and forth between who I think will win but for me it’s one of three, Nadal, Djokovic or Murray. I just don’t see Federer winning; I think he’ll be satisfied with his work in Toronto, although his draw is the most favourable of the top 4 seeds. I’ve gone for Nadal in the draw challange, but thinking about it realistically, I think Djokovic is ready to win here. Although the second of back-to-back Masters Series often yields many unexpected results, I think as it was in Toronto, the top four seeds will be playing off in the Semi’s. I can’t mount a case for anyone outside of this group because no one’s form warrants it. After seeing Novak demolish Nadal at this tournament last year, I think should the two meet again it’ll be the same result.
Over the years I've noticed that crowds are often poor for this tournament, at least early in the week. The main stadium was at best 25% full for Wawrinka/Almagro. 
Now please beat Roddick, but given their history, I'm worried.
