The Western & Southern Open’s initial 56-player roster has now been reduced to just eight participants as it approaches the quarterfinal stage of this prestigious Masters event.
Throughout the week, Cincinnati’s spectators have enjoyed outstanding tennis, which is expected to continue during the upcoming weekend’s concluding matches. Friday is scheduled to feature all four quarterfinal showdowns, with one of them pitting the 2nd-seeded Novak Djokovic against the 9th-seeded Taylor Fritz.
You can learn more about betting on tennis and the upcoming US Open Tennis 2023 by checking out our guide.
Fixture: Novak Djokovic (2) vs Taylor Fritz (9)
Date: August 18, 2023
Tournament: Western & Southern Open 2023
Round: Quarterfinal
Venue: Cincinnati, US
Head-to-Head: Djokovic 6-0 Fritz
Novak Djokovic picked up a 19th victory over Gael Monfils on Thursday to make his 12th quarterfinal appearance at the Western & Southern Open. He is 17-1 on hardcourts this season and is looking to get some valuable match tuneups before the US Open.
Djokovic squares off against Taylor Fritz in the quarters, a player he holds a 6-0 head-to-head advantage against. Fritz has played some tremendous tennis during the North American hardcourt swing. He holds an 11-2 record and is peaking at the perfect time ahead of the last Slam of the season.
If Fritz wants to hang in this one, his first-serve and ace percentages have to be very high. Unfortunately for him, he is taking on arguably the best returner of serve in tennis history. Aside from a five-set tussle at the 2021 Australian Open, Djokovic has defeated Fritz in straight sets on every other occasion. He’s able to counter the American’s big serve with ease. Fritz is also unable to hit through Djokovic, whose impeccable defense can turn into an all-out attack in the blink of an eye.
The American has been in decent form over the last few weeks as he won the Atlanta Open and reached the semifinals of the Citi Open as well. However, given their past history, Djokovic is likely to have the upper hand yet again. He also gets more dangerous and difficult to beat as the tournament goes on. While Fritz has played at a good level this week, the Serb should be able to extend his winning record against his younger opponent.
We expect Djokovic to overcome Fritz in straight sets. Bovada offers set props as well as a host of other betting markets, which you can take a look at. Djokovic to win 2-0 is -150 meaning a $150 bet will return $250.
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Djokovic, a two-time winner of this tournament in 2018 and 2020, continued his undefeated streak against Gael Monfils, securing his 19th victory with a decisive 6-3, 6-2 triumph in Ohio. Although Djokovic had a chance to secure the second set with a 6-0 score, Monfils managed to break his serve before Djokovic ultimately sealed the win in his subsequent service game. This victory paved the way for Djokovic to face off against American Taylor Fritz in the next round, who emerged victorious over Djokovic’s fellow countryman Dusan Lajovic.
In another match, Carlos Alcaraz faced a challenging three-set battle against USA’s Tommy Paul. Alcaraz secured the first set with a close score of 8-6 in a tiebreak, only to lose the second-set tiebreak by a significant margin of 7-0. However, Alcaraz rebounded in the deciding set, clinching a 6-3 victory in an enthralling match marked by rain interruptions.
Alcaraz, who notably defeated Djokovic in the Wimbledon final the previous month to claim his second Grand Slam title, found himself in a favorable position at 4-3 and a break ahead in the final set before rain suspended play for over an hour. Upon resumption, he swiftly won the next two games to secure a place in the next round, where he will face Australian Max Purcell. Purcell secured his spot by defeating veteran Stan Wawrinka with a solid 6-4, 6-2 performance.
Completing the quarter-final lineup are Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, who will face off against Australian Alexei Popyrin, and Germany’s Alexander Zverev, set to compete against France’s Adrian Mannarino. Zverev made a notable upset by eliminating third seed Daniil Medvedev, breaking the Russian player’s serve three times and successfully saving six out of eight break points. Meanwhile, Hurkacz eliminated fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas with a dominant display of 11 aces and 27 winners, securing a 6-3, 6-4 victory.
The outright betting is close with the bookies finding it hard to pick between the two favorites Alcaraz and Djokovic.
| ATP Cincinnati Outright |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|
| Carlos Alcaraz | +110 | +110 | +110 |
| Novak Djokovic | +110 | +110 | +105 |
| Alexander Zverev | +700 | +700 | +800 |
| Hubert Hurkacz | +1400 | +1400 | +1400 |
| Taylor Fritz | +2000 | +2000 | +2000 |
| Max Purcell | +6600 | +6600 | +8000 |
| Alexei Popyrin | +6600 | +6600 | +6600 |
| Adrian Mannarino | +8000 | +8000 | +8000 |
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