With the US Open just two weeks ago, all of the top-ranked men and women are in Cincinnati this week, looking to gain confidence and momentum.
The singles draws in Cincinnati feature the top 20 men and the top 20 women in the world. That includes Novak Djokovic, who is playing his first tournament in North America since the 2021 US Open, as COVID-19 vaccine mandates have been lifted. After a plethora of upsets this past week in Canada, will the top players restore order in Cincinnati?
Monday’s schedule is headlined by a meeting between two mothers who recently returned to the tour: Elina Svitolina and Caroline Wozniacki. Other action includes Major singles champions Venus Williams, Stan Wawrinka, and Marketa Vondrousova, as well as a matchup between two friends who have been struggling this season: Felix Auger-Aliassime and Matteo Berrettini.
Throughout the tournament, this preview will analyze the day’s two most prominent matches, while highlighting the other notable matches on the schedule. Monday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Matteo Berrettini vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime (12) – 11:00am on Grandstand
After suffering a heartbreaking loss to Andy Murray at this year’s Australian Open, Berrettini spent the next several months injured. Between March and June, Matteo went just 3-4, and after a loss in Stuttgart in June, he left the court in tears due to his inability to perform at his usual level. But last month at Wimbledon, he rediscovered his confidence, with strong victories over Alex de Minaur and Sascha Zverev.
Auger-Aliassime has battled both injuries and illness for most of this season. Dating back to Miami in March, he’s now lost eight of his last nine matches, and is currently on a five-match losing streak. Considering Felix won three consecutive titles last October, he will be in danger of his ranking plummeting before the end of this year.
Berrettini leads their head-to-head 4-1 overall, and 2-1 on hard courts. Though it is worth noting those two hard court victories came in the Laver Cup, a team event on an indoor hard court. FAA’s only win came at this same event two years ago. In a match where both players could really use a win, I give the edge to Berrettini based on recent form, as well as their shared history.
Elina Svitolina vs. Caroline Wozniacki (WC) – Not Before 8:30pm on Center Court
In her comeback from retirement last week, Wozniacki went 1-1. She comfortably defeated qualifier Kimberly Birrell, but lost 6-2, 7-5 to Wimbledon champ Marketa Vondrousova. Caroline is a modest 13-11 lifetime in Cincinnati, where her best result is reaching the semifinals in 2014.
Svitolina’s recent time away from the sport lasted a year, compared to three-and-a-half years for Wozniacki, yet Elina’s return remains extremely impressive. Motivated by becoming a mother, and the war that continues to rage on in her country of Ukraine, Elina has been a new player. And she has revamped her game, becoming a more aggressive player. Just two months after returning, she reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros, and three weeks after that, the semifinals of Wimbledon.
These players met five times between 2016 and 2018, with Svitolina taking four of those five encounters, all of which were on hard courts. And with this only being Wozniacki’s third match back, Elina is a strong favorite to advance.
Other Notable Matches on Monday:
Venus Williams (WC) vs. Veronika Kudermetova (16) – Venus is just 2-5 on the year, and arrives in Cincinnati on a three-match losing streak, as she’s struggled to stay healthy. Kudermetova is 25-14, but she’s also been battling an injury since the grass court season.
Brandon Nakashima (WC) vs. Stan Wawrinka (WC) – 38-year-old Wawrinka is 20-14 this season at tour level, and is coming off a run to the final of Umag a few weeks ago on clay, his first final in over six years. 22-year-old Nakashima has been battling a knee injury of his own this year, and after debuting inside the top 50 in 2022, he’s just 9-15 in 2023. Last season on an indoor hard court in Basel, at the biggest tournament in Stan’s home country, Wawrinka beat Nakashima 6-4 in the third.
Sebastian Korda vs. Borna Coric (15) – Coric was the surprising champion of this tournament a year ago, when he defeated five seeded players (Nadal, Bautista Agut, Auger-Aliassime, Norrie, Tsitsipas). But Borna is just 18-16 this year. Korda suffered a wrist injury during a run to the Australian Open quarterfinals in January, and is just 5-7 since.
Karolina Muchova vs. Beatriz Haddad Maia (12) – These were the breakout players of this year’s Roland Garros, with Haddad Maia reaching her first Major semifinal, and Muchova going all the way to the final, where she nearly upset Iga Swiatek. Last year on a hard court on Ostrava, Karolina eliminated Beatriz in straight sets.
Sascha Zverev (16) vs. Grigor Dimitrov – Both men are former champions of this event: Dimitrov in 2017, and Zverev in 2021. Sascha leads their head-to-head 4-1, and hasn’t lost to Grigor since their first meeting in 2014.
Marketa Vondrousova (10) vs. Katerina Siniakova – Following her impressive triumph at Wimbledon, Vondrousova went 1-1 this past week in Canada, getting thumped by an in-form Coco Gauff 6-3, 6-0. Siniakova won a grass court title earlier this summer in Bad Homburg, but comes into Cincinnati having lost her last three matches.
Monday’s full Order of Play is here.
