Canadians Félix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov need to wipe the slate clean quickly after their National Bank Open elimination, they’re entitled to a rather abrupt start at the Cincinnati Masters.
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The ATP 1000 Series tournament kicks off on Sunday and is expected to feature a near-identical seeding as Montreal.
However, Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who skipped the National Bank Open, will be at the bottom of the table. He meets the winner of the duel between Borna Coric and a qualified player in the second round.
In the same part of the table is “FAA” recovering from a crushing loss to Casper Ruud in the Quarterfinals at Jarry Park. The Quebecer needs a quick recovery as he will cross swords with Kazakh Alexander Bublik (41st racquet in the world) or Australian Alex de Minaur (21st) in the second round.
Auger-Aliassime could also compete with the Italian Jannik Sinner (12th) in the round of 16.
The task will not be easy for Denis Shapovalov, who does not serve as a top seed with his 22nd world ranking. If he manages to edge out former world No. 3 Grigor Dimitrov from the start, he may have to repeat that feat in the round of 16 against tournament No. 1 seed Daniil Medvedev.
The showdown between the American Frances Tiafoe, 24th in the world rankings, and the Italian Matteo Berretini, 14th, should be one of the most exciting first-round duels in the men’s category.
We also expect a strong match between young Danish sensation Holger Rune (26th) and British Cameron Norrie (11th).
Note that Serbia’s Novak Djokovic is forced to ignore this Ohio-presented competition due to his vaccination status. He was replaced in the main draw by Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi.
A tough final lap for Serena Williams
On the women’s side, legendary Serena Williams – who recently announced her retirement after the US Open – meets none other than Emma Raducanu in the first round in Cincinnati.
However, the latter, defending champion at Flushing Meadows, is living a curse of a second year on the WTA circuit. In 2022 she has never reached the quarterfinals in 13 tournaments.
The winner of their duel is expected from Victoria Azarenka or Kaia Kanepi.
Canada’s Bianca Andreescu has to beat Italy’s Camila Giorgi, 29th player in the world, against American Jessica Pegula (7th) in the second round.
For her part, Leylah Fernandez has to be careful from the start against the Russian Ekaterina Alexandrova (28th). He could set the table for a possible clash with ex-world number one Naomi Osaka (39th) in the next round. The Montrealer is in the same table field as the Estonian Anna Kontaveit (2nd).