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Querrey vs. Kozlov | M. Zverev vs. Verdasco | Lopez vs. Chung

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1) Six Americans, led by World No. 20 Sam Querrey and #NextGenATP wild cards Stefan Kozlov and Tommy Paul, take the court for their opening-round matches Monday at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

2) Querrey, the No. 15 seed, begins his bid for a third ATP World Tour title this year and second of the summer hard-court swing when he meets the 19-year-old Kozlov on Center Court Monday afternoon. Last year, Querrey defeated Kozlov in the QF at ‘s-Hertogenbosch on grass in their only previous meeting on the ATP World Tour. This will be Querrey’s 11th appearance in Cincinnati, reaching the QF in 2007 (l. to Blake) for his best performance here, and is 10-10 lifetime. He swept all nine of his matches in Mexico this year, capturing his 9th and 10th career ATP World Tour titles at Acapulco (d. Nadal) and Los Cabos (d. Kokkinakis), respectively. Last week, Querrey lost to Kevin Anderson in the R16 at ATP Masters 1000 Montreal. Kozlov, ranked No. 133 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, is making his main draw debut in Cincinnati after failing to get out of qualifying in 2015-16. He advanced to the R16 at ’s-Hertogenbosch as a wild card (d. Brown, l. to Karlovic) and London/Queen’s Club as a qualifier (d. Johnson, l. to Cilic), but is just 2-8 overall on the ATP World Tour in 2017.

3) American qualifier Christopher Eubanks, coming off a career week in his home city of Atlanta last month, meets Frenchman Gael Monfils for the first time in the featured evening match on Center Court. The 21-year-old Eubanks advanced to the QF in Atlanta (d. Fritz in R32, Donaldson in R16, l. to Harrison in QF) in his first ATP World Tour event of 2017 and third of his career, all in Atlanta. He reached a career-high No. 348 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on July 31 and is currently ranked No. 374, the lowest-ranked player in the field. Monfils, a quarter-finalist here in 2011 (l. to No. 1 Djokovic), is 10-8 lifetime in Cincinnati. The World No. 21 bounced back from a R32 loss in Washington (l. to 200th-ranked qualifier Bhambri) by reaching the R16 last week at the ATP Masters 1000 Montreal (d. Nishikori in R32, l. to Bautista Agut).

4) A second all-American first-round matchup is slated to kick off action on the Grandstand Court when Donald Young faces Tommy Paul for the first time on the ATP World Tour. Young is bidding for his first match win in four tries at Cincinnati (2008, l. to Monfils; 2010, l. to Gulbis; 2012, l. to Levine). Ranked No. 57 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, Young has dropped three of his last four matches since defeating Tim Smyczek in the 1R at Atlanta (l. to Lacko in R16 at Atlanta; d. Smyczek in 1R, l. to Nishikori in R32 at Washington; l. to Paire in R64 at ATP Masters 1000 Montreal). The 20-year-old Paul is competing in Cincinnati for the first time following back-to-back QF appearances in Atlanta and Washington. He reached his first career ATP World Tour QF in Atlanta (d. Chung in R32, d. Jaziri in R16, l. to Muller in QF) and followed that up by reaching the QF in Washington (d. No. 17 Pouille in R32, No. 21 Muller in R16, l. to No. 9 Nishikori in QF). Paul reached a career-high No. 174 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on August 7.

5) The second afternoon match on the Grandstand Court features Fabio Fognini taking on Daniil Medvedev in a first-time encounter. Fognini advanced to the QF at Cincinnati in 2014 (l. to Raonic) and is 4-6 lifetime. The Italian No. 1 won his fifth ATP World Tour title in Gstaad (d. Hanfmann) last month and followed that with a SF showing in Kitzbuehel (l. to eventual champion Kohlschreiber). Medvedev, making his Cincinnati debut, advanced to the QF in Washington (d. Dimitrov in R16, l. to eventual champion A. Zverev in QF) but fell in the 1R to Adrian Mannarino last week at the ATP Masters 1000 Montreal. The 21-year-old Russian advanced to his 1st ATP World Tour SF and final at Chennai (d. Sela after saving 1 MP, l. to Bautista Agut) in January.

6) The night match on the Grandstand Court features two players who have not faced each other in nine years when Germany’s Mischa Zverev and Spain’s Fernando Verdasco square off in the first round. Verdasco has won all four meetings with Zverev, but the two have not met since the QF at New Haven in 2008, won by Verdasco in straight sets. The 29-year-old Zverev is winless in two previous trips to Cincinnati (2009, l. to Mathieu, R64; 2016, l. to Lopez, R64) but is hoping some of the success of his younger brother rubs off on him after 20-year-old Alexander Zverev defeated Roger Federer on Sunday to win the ATP Masters 1000 Montreal title. The elder Zverev advanced to his 2nd ATP World Tour singles final at Geneva as a qualifier (d. Nishikori, l. to Wawrinka) and earned the biggest win of his career over No. 1 Andy Murray to reach his 1st Grand Slam QF at the Australian Open (l. to Federer). Verdasco has an 8-11 lifetime record in Cincinnati, reaching the R16 in 2008 (l. to Lapentti) and 2011 (l. to Nadal). The Spaniard reached the final in Dubai (l. to Murray) and the SF at Doha (l. to Djokovic) and Bastad (l. to Ferrer).

A LOOK BACK

Zavarovalnica Sava Slovenia Open (Portoroz, Slovenia): Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky makes a return to the Top 100 in the Emirates ATP Rankings after rallying from a set and a break down to deny Italy’s Matteo Berrettini 6-7(7), 7-6(6), 6-3 in Portoroz. The 31-year-old Kiev native is projected to return to World No. 99 with his sixth Challenger title and first since May 2016 in Seoul.  

#NextGenATP Italian Berrettini will break into the Top 150 for the first time with his fourth Challenger final. Meanwhile, the event brought a close to the career of local favourite, former World No. 43 Grega Zemlja. The Slovenian won six titles on the ATP Challenger Tour. 

Wishing all the best to @GZemlja in retirement. The former World No. 43 and six-time #ATPChallenger titlist hung up his racquet in Portoroz. pic.twitter.com/EiTw0KCNl0

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) August 12, 2017

Nordic Naturals Challenger (Aptos, California, USA): Kazakhstan’s Alexander Bublik boosted his chances of qualifying for the inaugural Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan with a 6-2, 6-3 victory over Brit Liam Broady in Aptos. It is the 20 year old’s second Challenger title of the season after Morelos, Mexico in February and boosts him to a career-high No. 104 in the Emirates ATP Rankings. It is the 12th time this season a NextGenATP player has won on the ATP Challenger Tour. It brought Broady’s run of six straight wins to an end, having won through qualifying.

mt.ten Cup (Jinan, China): Yen Hsun Lu’s extraordinary run continued with a 29th ATP Challenger Tour title in Jinan. The top seed took down former World No. 50 Ricardas Berankis of Lithuania 6-3, 6-1 to make it back-to-back Challenger titles. The 33 year old of Chinese Taipei won last week in Chengdu and earlier in the year in Taipei City. He has not dropped a set in his past seven finals and extends his record in Challenger finals to 21-3 since 2008. Lu is projected to rise nine places in the Emirates ATP Rankings to No. 61. Berankis was searching for his second Challenger title of the season after his triumph in the Shymkent Challenger, Kazakhstan.

.@LuRendy reflects on a successful week in Jinan, China, where he claimed a 29th #ATPChallenger title. pic.twitter.com/dCSiLI8i9Z

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) August 14, 2017

Claro Open (Floridablanca, Colombia): In an all-Argentine final, top seed Guido Pella took down Facundo Arguello 6-2, 6-4 to claim his 12th Challenger title and second of the year after Milan. The 27 year old did not drop a set all week and surges 17 spots to No. 75 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, his highest position since November last year.

Congrats @guido_pella! ?? lifts his 12th #ATPChallenger trophy, defeating countryman #Arguello 62 64 in Floridablanca @Tenisgrandslam. pic.twitter.com/To8S5E7z1t

— ATP Challenger Tour (@ATPChallenger) August 13, 2017

A LOOK AHEAD

 Four Challenger events will take place this week, headed by the $125,000 Milex Open, in Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Three players in the Top 100 head the seedings, with Bosnian World No. 73 Damir Dzumhur top seed, followed by former World No. 9, Nicolas Almagro. This week’s Claro Open champion Guido Pella and home hopeful Victor Estrella Burgos round out the top four seeds. NextGenATP prospects Casper Ruud, of Norway, and Chile’s Nicolas Jarry are also seeded.

Seven of the Top 8 seeds in the $100,000 event in Vancouver, Canada, are ranked in the Top 100. Four-time Odlum Brown VanOpen champion Dudi Sela, of Israel, returns. The 32 year old former World No. 29 boasts a 23-1 record at the tournament and is just the fifth player in Challenger history to win four or more titles at the same event. Australia’s 23-year-old Jordan Thompson is seeded second. Thompson beat World No. 1 Andy Murray at the Aegon Championships at the Queen’s Club. Romanian Marius Copil and Slovakian Norbert Gombos complete the top four seeds. #NextGenATP French player Quentin Halys takes on local veteran Peter Polansky in the first round. The Canadian is looking to reach his fourth straight Challenger final on home soil. NextGenATP players Taylor Fritz, Duckhee Lee, Sebastian Ofner and Noah Rubin will also start.

The $75,000 Challenger in Cordenons, Italy, is back for a 14th year. Serbian Laslo Djere and Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez are the top two seeds. Recent Segovia Challenger champion Jaume Munar, of Spain, is also part of the field. 

Lastly, the $50,000 event in Meerbusch, Germany, returns for a fifth year and boasts two Top 60 players as its top two seeds. Local hopeful Florian Mayer, a runner-up in the recent German Open on the ATP World Tour is No. 1 seed, followed by World No. 60 Steve Darcis, of Belgium. 

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ATP CHALLENGER TOUR ON TWITTER: The ATP Challenger Tour has launched a dedicated Twitter account for the latest news and information about players and events. Follow @ATPChallenger at twitter.com/ATPChallenger

Fourteenth seed John Isner won 91 per cent of his first-serve points (42/46) to win his opener at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati 7-6(3), 6-4 against Serbian Viktor Troicki on Sunday.

The American hit 20 aces and saved both break points to improve to 3-4 against Troicki in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. Isner, who is 9-1 in his past 10 matches, has won two titles in the past month: the Dell Technologies Hall of Fame Open in Newport and the BB&T Atlanta Open.

He reached the Cincinnati final in 2013, beating Novak Djokovic and Juan Martin del Potro before falling to Rafael Nadal in the final. Isner will next meet a compatriot, either #NextGenATP Tommy Paul or Donald Young.

Gilles Muller, also a two-time titlist this season, leaned on his serve to get through a tight first-round contest against Ryan Harrison of the U.S. Muller struck 21 aces in a 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(3) win that took two hours and four minutes.

Muller, the 16^th seed, is making only his second appearance in Cincinnati. He fell in the first round in 2015 to Benoit Paire. The Luxembourg left-hander will next play Albert Ramos-Vinolas of Spain or Russian Mikhail Youzhny.

The ATP World Tour returns to Cincinnati this week for the seventh Masters 1000 event of the year. Held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, the Western & Southern Open welcomes Rafael Nadal as its top seed and seven-time champion Roger Federer as the second seed.

1) No. 1 On the Line: Either Federer or Nadal will be World No. 1 following the Western & Southern Open. If Federer and Nadal meet in the Cincinnati final on August 20, the winner will reclaim No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on August 21. See below for all scenarios.

NADAL & FEDERER’s POTENTIAL POINTS IN CINCINNATI

2) Long Time Coming: Federer, 36, debuted at No. 1 on Feb. 2, 2004 and has not been No. 1 since Nov. 4, 2012. He is hoping to break a pair of Andre Agassi’s records. Federer, a seven-time Cincinnati champion, would be the oldest World No. 1 since rankings were established in 1973. The four years and 289 days since Nov. 4, 2012 would be the longest gap between stints at No. 1.

3) Third Time’s the Charm: Nadal is trying for the third time this summer to regain the No. 1 ranking. He would already be No. 1 had he advanced to the semi-finals at either Wimbledon or Montreal.

4) Thiem’s Travails: No. 3 seed Dominic Thiem is 5-5 since Roland Garros, squandering match point(s) in recent losses to Kevin Anderson at Washington and Diego Schwartzman at Montreal.

5) Sascha in Cincy: No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev is one of nine #NextGenATP players in the Cincinnati main draw. Zverev is on pace to qualify for both the Next Gen ATP Finals and Nitto ATP Finals. The German has already punched his ticket to Milan and is No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Race To London.

6) Title Drought: No. 6 seed Milos Raonic has played 31 tournaments since his last championship at 2016 Brisbane. He opens against either Borna Coric or Nikoloz Basilashvili. Zverev is a potential quarter-final opponent.

7) American Invasion: Among the 10 Americans in the main draw prior to the conclusion of qualifying are No. 13 seed Jack Sock, No. 14 seed John Isner, No. 15 seed Sam Querrey and #NextGenATP wild cards Jared Donaldson, Stefan Kozlov, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe.

8) Qualifiers Make Their Mark: Seven players advanced to the main draw through qualifying, including two Americans. In his fifth year since turning pro, Mitchell Krueger will make his ATP World Tour Masters 1000 debut. It will be Krueger’s third ATP World Tour main draw of the U.S. summer (Newport, Washington). Also making his Masters 1000 debut will be Christopher Eubanks, who enjoyed a stunning run to the quarter-finals at the BB&T Atlanta Open last month. The college star at Georgia Tech opens against Gael Monfils.

9) Tipsarevic Lucky Loser: Former World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic is making his return to the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 stage, receiving Lucky Loser entry into the main draw following Kei Nishikori’s withdrawal due to a right wrist injury. The Serbian, who opens against Steve Johnson or David Ferrer, is appearing in his first Masters 1000 event of the year and making his return to Cincinnati following a three-year absence.

10) The Odd Couple: Eight Grand Slam championship teams are in the field, but the talk of the Western & Southern Open doubles draw is a first-time pairing. Zverev, 20, and Leander Paes, 44, will make their team debut. Paes is a former World No. 1 and two-time Cincinnati champion.

Alexander Zverev put the writing on the wall early. Then he blew the wall over.

Zverev powered to a 6-3, 6-4 victory against Roger Federer in the final of the Coupe Rogers in Montreal Sunday with a stunning display of power tennis that constantly had the Swiss star under immense baseline pressure.

Zverev hit through Federer on the quicker Canadian court, upping his power level right from the beginning of the match to force forehand and backhand errors and capture the all-important first break of serve. When Zverev broke for 3-1 in the opening set, it proved to be a pivotal moment that Federer never recovered from.

Zverev’s forehand was the battering ram. He was averaging hitting his topspin, driving weapon at 119km/h (68mph) coming into the final, but he ramped it up an extra 12 per cent to 133km/h (83mph) through the first 23 points of the match. He came out guns blazing.

Federer was trailing 1-2, 15/30, on serve at the time, and got back to 30/30 with an ace down the middle in the Ad court. At 30/30, Zverev crushed two consecutive backhands to force a forehand error from Federer out wide, with the Swiss simply unable to match the power level of his younger opponent. Zverev averaged hitting his topspin backhand at 121 km/h (75mph) before the final, but was already at 124 km/h (77mph) before he cracked those two gems.

Federer missed his first serve at 30/40, and Zverev unloaded with a huge forehand in the middle of the rally before finally forcing a Federer backhand passing shot wide for the break. Zverev quickly held to 15, and his 4-1 lead proved ominous, and indeed, insurmountable.

Zverev’s relentless forehand power continued through the first set, crushing six of his 10 winners from that wing. The match produced several one-sided stats, but none more than the average groundstroke speed in the opening set.

Set 1 – Average Groundstroke Speed
• Zverev 118km/h (73mph)
• Federer 100km/h (62mph)

Zverev averaged hitting his groundstrokes a significant 18 per cent harder than Federer, making the Swiss have to often half-volley, slice, and stretch out wide to stay in the point. Zverev’s average groundstroke speed dropped a touch by the end of the match, but Federer was never able to up his power level to pressure the 20-year-old German.

Full Match – Average Groundstroke Speed
• Zverev 115km/h (72mph)
• Federer (100km/h (62mph)

All of that firepower helped Zverev finish with 20 total winners, including nine from the forehand side, and five from the backhand. As Zverev has made his impressive run to the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings, his backhand has been the more reliable shot, while his big forehand has taken a little more time to consistently find the court. That box can well and truly be checked now.

Rally Length
The beginning of the point in the final was a fertile time for Zverev to ramp up the power with his serve and the ensuing Serve +1 bruising groundstrokes. Overall, almost three out of four points (74 per cent) in the final saw both player hit just two shots in the court, with only five rallies reaching double figures.

Length Of Rally
• 0-4 shots = 74% (83)
• 5-9 shots = 21% (24)
• 10+ shots = 5% (5)

Zverev’s game style is built around crushing the ball first, and seeing where the dust settles later on. What’s interesting is that while Zverev played most of the match on the front foot, both players ran almost exactly the same distance. Zverev ran 867 metres, while Federer ran just two more at 869 metres.

The small holes in Zverev’s game are rapidly closing. He did miss several short, low, awkward balls when Federer pulled him forward in the court, and was sometimes too ambitious on defence playing down the line with offence.

Those outliers will soon be dismissed from his game, leaving opponents with a well groomed 6’6” power baseliner to wrestle with. The coming of Alexander Zverev is now in full force.

They say that Montreal is the Paris of North America, and French duo Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut certainly made it their home this week.

Herbert and Mahut claimed their ninth title together, edging Rohan Bopanna and Ivan Dodig 6-4, 3-6, 10-6 on Sunday at the Coupe Rogers. The fifth seeds improved to 20-8 this season after one hour and 22 minutes, firing four aces and notching 88 per cent of first serve points.

It was the fifth ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown for the French duo, all coming at different tournaments. Last year, they prevailed in Indian Wells, Miami and Monte Carlo, and earlier this year they lifted the trophy in Rome.

“It was a hard match against a really good team,” said Herbert. “We managed to win the first, they played really well in the second and we had a good level in the Match Tie-break.

“When I was younger, I came here with dreams and goals and to be able to win such big titles is a dream come true for me. My 10th title is great and I hope I’ll have many more with Nico.”

The #CoupeRogers doubles champions – @p2hugz and @nmahut – have a message for you… pic.twitter.com/Iq0VRnQrqK

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 13, 2017

Herbert and Mahut got off to a strong start on a sunny early afternoon on Court Central. The fifth-seeded tandem broke in seventh game of the opening set and closed out the opener with a hold to love.

Bopanna and Dodig rebounded nicely in the second, taking the set with a late break, but their French opponents were too dominant in the ensuing Match Tie-break. A quick 4/0 lead was too much to overcome and they would seal the victory on their fourth championship point, as Herbert fired a service winner.

“We had four tough matches,” said Mahut. “After having a few months without winning too much, it’s good to come back in the [Emirates ATP Doubles] Race to London.

“I couldn’t have expected to win 19 titles when I started. I’m pretty happy, but I want to have the most among Frenchmen. More than Michael Llodra!”

Herbert and Mahut are the first French team to win the title at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Canada. They split $277,030 in prize money and 1,000 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points. Individually, 26-year-old Herbert won his 10th tour-level doubles title and 35-year-old Mahut claimed his 19th.

Bopanna and Dodig, meanwhile, share $135,630 in prize money and 600 Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings points. Bidding for his third title of the season, the Bangalore native falls to 16-26 in doubles finals. His Croatian teammate, who was also vying for his third victory of the year, drops to 8-12. Dodig had won the title in Toronto in 2016 with Marcelo Melo.

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