Murray, Raonic, Cilic Play In Cincinnati Friday

After upsetting Top 10 opponents, Borna Coric, Grigor Dimitrov, Steve Johnson and Bernard Tomic highlight the Western & Southern Open quarter-finals on Friday. Not since 2008 have four unseeded players reached the Cincinnati quarter-finals (Ernests Gulbis, Philipp Kohlschreiber, Nicolas Lapentti and Carlos Moya). The tournament is assured an unseeded semi-finalist for the fifth straight year with Dimitrov meeting Johnson at 11 am. 

A year of firsts continued for Johnson when he beat 10th-ranked Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday. The doubles bronze medalist won his maiden singles title at Nottingham in June, which he followed at Wimbledon with his first run to the fourth round of a Grand Slam tournament. Now making his ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final debut, Johnson will become the No. 1 American in the Emirates ATP Rankings on August 22. He has a chance to break into the Top 20 if he beats Dimitrov.

Also enjoying his best ATP Masters 1000 run is Coric, who meets 12th-seeded countryman Marin Cilic in the second men’s match on Center Court. Three months shy of his 20th birthday when the tournament began on Sunday, Coric is the youngest quarter-finalist at Cincinnati since Andy Murray in 2006 and at any ATP Masters 1000 event since Novak Djokovic at Madrid in October 2006. By beating Cilic, Coric would become the youngest semi-finalist at Cincinnati since Boris Becker in 1987 and the youngest at any ATP Masters 1000 event since Murray at 2006 Toronto.

Through to the third ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final of his career, Tomic concludes play on Center Court against the top-seeded Murray. For the Aussie to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, he must overcome an 0-16 record against Top 4 players and an 0-4 mark versus Murray (0-10 in sets). Buoyed by his second Wimbledon title and Olympic gold medal, Murray is on a career-long 20-match winning streak and 31-1 since falling to Djokovic in the ATP Masters 1000 Madrid final.

The only quarter-final pitting two seeded players will take place on Grandstand between World No. 6 Milos Raonic and World No. 9 Dominic Thiem. With rain affecting the first five days of the Western & Southern Open, Thiem received a rare reprieve from the weather when Gael Monfils withdrew due to a back injury. That gave Thiem a third-round walkover on Thursday, while the Wimbledon finalist Raonic needed three sets to defeat 102nd-ranked qualifier Yuichi Sugita.

FOUR UNSEEDED PLAYERS IN CINCINNATI QUARTER-FINALS
Unseeded Player Ranking Top 10 Win in 3rd Round Best ATP Masters 1000 Finish
Bernard Tomic (AUS) 21 d. No. 7 Nishikori 76(1) 76(5) 2015 Indian Wells, 2015 Shanghai and 2016 Cincinnati Quarter-finalist
Steve Johnson (USA) 23 d. No. 10 Tsonga 63 76(6) 2016 Cincinnati Quarter-finalist
Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) 34 d. No. 4 Wawrinka 64 64 2014 Rome and Toronto Semi-finalist
Borna Coric (CRO) 49 d. No. 5 Nadal 61 63 2016 Cincinnati Quarter-finalist

FEDEX ATP HEAD 2 HEADS – Singles Quarter-finals

Steve Johnson (USA) vs Grigor Dimitrov (BUL) Johnson Leads 2-1
15 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R64 Grigor Dimitrov 7-6(8) 6-2 7-6(2)
15 Washington (U.S.A.) Hard R16 Steve Johnson 6-3 1-6 6-3
16 Wimbledon (Great Britain) Grass R32 Steve Johnson 6-7(6) 7-6(3) 6-4 6-2

Johnson 2016 FastFacts
W: Nottingham (d. Cuevas); SF: Washington (l. to Karlovic); QF (3): London/Queen’s Club (l. to Cilic); Newport (l. to Young); Rio Olympics (l. to Murray)
YTD W-L: 26-20 (14-11 on hard)
YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 1
Date of Birth: December 24, 1989
Emirates ATP Ranking: 23
Cincinnati W-L (Best Result): 5-1 (2016 Quarter-finalist)

• Tournament Note: First-time ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finalist is 20-6 after starting season 6-14. Improved to 2-15 vs. Top 10 opponents by beating No. 10 Tsonga in 3R and will become No. 1 American for 1st time on Monday
• Rio Olympics doubles bronze medalist w/Sock (d. Nestor/Pospisil) and singles quarter-finalist (l. to Murray 76 in 3rd)
• Captured 1st ATP titles in singles at Nottingham (d. Cuevas) and doubles at Geneva w/Querrey (d. Klaasen/Ram)
• Reached Grand Slam 4R for 1st time at Wimbledon (d. Dimitrov, l. to No. 3 Federer)
• Achieved career-high No. 21 in Emirates ATP Rankings on July 25
• Beat Isner 76(7) 76(15) to reach Washington SF (l. to Karlovic)
• Snapped 0-13 start to career vs. Top 10 players at London/Queen’s Club (d. No. 10 Gasquet in 1R, l. to Cilic in QF)
• Advanced to Australian Open 3R for 2nd straight season (d. Bedene and Bellucci, l. to No. 8 Ferrer)
• Saved 1 MP to defeat Millman in Delray Beach 1R before squandering 75 40 lead vs. Becker in 2R
• Reached Memphis doubles final w/Querrey (l. to Fyrstenberg/S. Gonzalez)

Dimitrov 2016 FastFacts
F (2): Sydney (l. to Troicki); Istanbul (l. to Schwartzman); SF: Delray Beach (l. to Ram); QF (3): Brisbane (l. to Federer); Acapulco (l. to Thiem); ATP Masters 1000 Toronto (l. to Nishikori)
YTD W-L: 26-18 (20-10 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 4
Date of Birth: May 16, 1991
Emirates ATP Ranking: 34
Cincinnati W-L (Best Result): 8-4 (2016 Quarter-finalist)

• Tournament Note: Seeking 3rd ATP Masters 1000 SF appearance (also 2014 Rome and 2014 Toronto) 
• Held 1 MP in Sydney final (l. to Troicki 76 in 3rd) and led 76 52 in Istanbul final (l. to Schwarzman 60 in 3rd)
• Advanced to SF at Delray Beach (l. to Ram) and QFs at Brisbane (l. to No. 3 Federer in 3 sets), Acapulco (l. to Thiem) and ATP Masters 1000 Toronto (l. to No. 6 Nishikori in 3 sets)
• Snapped 7-match losing streak vs. Top 10 opponents by beating No. 2 Murray in Miami 3R (l. to Monfils in 4R)
• Reached 3R at Australian Open (l. to No. 3 Federer in 4 sets) and Wimbledon (d. Simon, l. to Johnson in 4R)
• Suffered 6-match losing streak overall from May 1 to June 27
• Fell to No. 40 in Emirates ATP Rankings on July 18 – lowest ranking since No. 41 on February 11, 2013

[12] Marin Cilic (CRO) vs Borna Coric (CRO) Cilic Leads 1-0
15 ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai (China) Hard R32 Marin Cilic 6-1 6-2

Cilic 2016 FastFacts
F (2): Marseille (l. to Kyrgios); Geneva (l. to Wawrinka); SF: London/Queen’s Club (l. to Murray); QF (4): Brisbane (l. to Thiem); Rotterdam (l. to Kohlschreiber); ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Goffin); Wimbledon (l. to Federer)
YTD W-L: 29-17 (18-11 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 14
Date of Birth: September 28, 1988
Emirates ATP Ranking: 14
Cincinnati W-L (Best Result): 10-7 (2012, 2016 Quarter-finalist)

• Tournament Note: Seeking 1st ATP Masters 1000 SF in 71st appearance at this level (0-8 in QFs)
• Advanced to 3rd straight Wimbledon QF, falling to No. 3 Federer after leading by 2 sets and holding 3 MPs
• Reached finals at Marseille (l. to Kyrgios) and Geneva (d. Ferrer, l. to No. 4 Wawrinka)
• Also reached London/Queen’s Club SF (l. to No. 2 Murray in 3 sets) and Rio Olympics 3R (l. to Monfils in 3 sets)
• Fell to 0-8 lifetime in ATP Masters 1000 QFs at Indian Wells (l. to Goffin)
• Snapped 11-match losing streak vs. Top 10 opponents with win over No. 10 Gasquet in Indian Wells 4R
• Helped Croatia reach Davis Cup SF with 3-2 wins over Belgium (d. Coppejans, l. to Goffin) and USA (l. to Sock after leading by 2 sets, w/Dodig d. Bryan/Bryan, d. Isner)
• Withdrew from ATP Masters 1000 events at Monte-Carlo, Madrid and Rome due to knee injury

Coric 2016 FastFacts
F (2): Chennai (l. to Wawrinka); Marrakech (l. to Delbonis); QF: Estoril (l. to Kyrgios)
YTD W-L: 22-21 (14-12 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 0
Date of Birth: November 14, 1996
Emirates ATP Ranking: 49
Cincinnati W-L (Best Result): 4-1 (2016 Quarter-finalist)

• Tournament Note: First-time ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finalist snapped 10-match losing streak vs. Top 10 opponents by beating No. 5 Nadal in 3R. Bidding to become youngest Cincinnati semi-finalist in 29 years
• Began season by reaching 1st ATP World Tour final at Chennai (d. Bautista Agut 76 in 3rd, l. to No. 4 Wawrinka)
• Became 1st teen to play in an ATP final since countryman Cilic at 2008 New Haven (d. Fish)
• Beat Mathieu and Vesely to reach 2nd ATP World Tour final at Marrakech (l. to Delbonis)
• Advanced to Roland Garros 3R for 2nd straight year (d. Fritz and Tomic, l. to Bautista Agut) 
• Reached ATP Masters 1000 3R for 1st time at Indian Wells (d. Pouille and Bellucci, l. to No. 7 Berdych)
• Clinched Croatia’s 3-2 Davis Cup wins over Belgium in 1R (d. Coppejans) and USA in QF (d. Sock)

[1] Andy Murray (GBR) vs Bernard Tomic (AUS) Murray Leads 4-0
12 Brisbane (Australia) Hard SF Andy Murray 6-3 6-2
13 ATP Masters 1000 Miami (U.S.A.) Hard R64 Andy Murray 6-3 6-1
15 Davis Cup SF (Great Britain) Hard RR Andy Murray 7-5 6-3 6-2
16 Australian Open (Australia) Hard R16 Andy Murray 6-4 6-4 7-6(4)

Murray 2016 FastFacts
W (4): ATP Masters 1000 Rome (d. Djokovic); London/Queen’s Club (d. Raonic); Wimbledon (d. Raonic); Rio Olympics (d. del Potro); F (3): Australian Open (l. to Djokovic); ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (l. to Djokovic); Roland Garros (l. to Djokovic); SF: ATP Masters 1000 Monte Carlo (l. to Nadal)
YTD W-L: 48-6 (18-3 on hard)
YTD Titles: 4 / Career Titles: 39
Date of Birth: May 15, 1987
Emirates ATP Ranking: 2 (Career-High)
Cincinnati W-L (Best Result): 29-9 (2008, 2011 Champion)

• Tournament Note: Became 5th active player to reach 600 wins by beating Anderson in 3R. Enjoying a career-long 20-match win streak and owns a 31-1 record since falling to No. 1 Djokovic in ATP Masters 1000 final
• Captured 3rd Grand Slam title at Wimbledon (d. Tsonga in 5 sets, No. 9 Berdych and No. 7 Raonic)
• Became 1st British finalist at Roland Garros and 10th man to reach all 4 major finals in Open Era (l. to No. 1 Djokovic)
• Fell to 0-5 in Australian Open finals with 4th championship match loss to No. 1 Djokovic
• With J. Murray, became 1st brothers in Open Era to reach singles and doubles finals at same major (Australian Open)
• Successfully defended singles gold medal at Rio Olympics (d. del Potro 75 in 4th after 4h2m)
• Celebrated 29th birthday by beating No. 1 Djokovic for 12th ATP Masters 1000 title at Rome
• Beat No. 8 Berdych and No. 5 Nadal en route to ATP Masters 1000 Madrid final (l. to No. 1 Djokovic)
• Rallied from 76 30 down to defeat No. 9 Raonic and become 1st 5-time London/Queen’s Club champion (est. 1890)
• Extended Davis Cup win streak to 14 matches with 3 victories to lead Great Britain past Japan 3-1 in 1R

Tomic 2016 FastFacts
F: Acapulco (l. to Thiem); SF (2): Brisbane (l. to Raonic); London/Queen’s Club (l. to Raonic); QF (3): Sydney (l. to Gabashvili); Quito (l. to Lorenzi); ’s-Hertogenbosch (l. to Mahut)
YTD W-L: 28-19 (18-9 on hard)
YTD Titles: 0 / Career Titles: 3
Date of Birth: October 21, 1992
Emirates ATP Ranking: 21
Cincinnati W-L (Best Result): 6-3 (2016 Quarter-finalist)

• Tournament Note: Seeking 1st ATP Masters 1000 SF after losing in 2015 Indian Wells and Shanghai QFs
• Appeared in 5th career final at Acapulco – 1st at an ATP World Tour 500 event (l. to Thiem in 3 sets)
• Achieved career-high of No. 17 in Emirates ATP Rankings on January 11
• Advanced to SFs at Brisbane (d. No. 8 Nishikori, l. to Raonic) and London/Queen’s Club (l. to No. 9 Raonic)
• Reached 4R at Aus. Open (l. to No. 2 Murray) and Wimbledon (d. Verdasco in 5 sets of 1R, l. to Pouille 10-8 in 5th)
• Suffered 5-match losing streak from March to May before reaching Roland Garros 2R (d. Baker, l. to Coric) 
• Retired in Sydney QF vs. Gabashvili (fatigue), Indian Wells 3R vs. Raonic (right wrist) and Rome 1R vs. Paire (flu)
• Withdrew from ATP Masters 1000 events at Miami and Monte-Carlo due to right wrist injury

GRANDSTAND

[4] Milos Raonic (CAN) vs [8] Dominic Thiem (AUT) First Meeting

Raonic 2016 FastFacts
W: Brisbane (d. Federer); F (3): ATP Masters 1000 Indian Wells (l. to Djokovic); London/Queen’s Club (l. to Murray); Wimbledon (l. to Murray); SF: Australian Open (l. to Murray); QF (4): ATP Masters 1000 Miami (l. to Kyrgios); ATP Masters 1000 Monte-Carlo (l. to Murray); ATP Masters 1000 Madrid (l. to Djokovic); ATP Masters 1000 Toronto (l. to Monfils)
YTD W-L: 41-10 (21-4 on hard)
YTD Titles: 1 / Career Titles: 8
Date of Birth: December 27, 1990
Emirates ATP Ranking: 6
Cincinnati W-L (Best Result): 10-4 (2014 Semi-finalist)

• Tournament Note: Reached QF or better in 10 of 12 tournaments in 2016, including 6 of 7 ATP Masters 1000 events
• Became 1st Canadian man and 2nd Canadian overall to reach major singles final at Wimbledon (l. to No. 2 Murray)
• En route to Wimbledon final, earned 1st win from 2 sets down to beat Goffin, then defeated No. 3 Federer in 5 sets
• Also fell to No. 2 Murray in London/Queen’s Club final after leading 76 30
• Won 1st 9 matches of season, highlighted by 8th career title at Brisbane (d. No. 3 Federer)
• Upset No. 4 Wawrinka in 5 sets en route to Australian Open SF (l. to No. 2 Murray in 5 sets)
• Played in 3rd ATP Masters 1000 final at Indian Wells (d. No. 7 Berdych, Monfils and Goffin; l. to No. 1 Djokovic)
• Reached ATP Masters 1000 QFs at Miami (l. to Kyrgios), Monte-Carlo (l. to No. 2 Murray), Madrid (l. to No. 1 Djokovic) and Toronto (l. to Monfils)
• Advanced to Roland Garros 4R (l. to Ramos-Viñolas)
• Withdrew from Delray Beach, Acapulco and Davis Cup 1R due to muscular tear sustained in Australian Open SF

Thiem 2016 FastFacts
W (4): Buenos Aires (d. Almagro); Acapulco (d. Tomic); Nice (d. A. Zverev); Stuttgart (d. Kohlschreiber); F: Munich (l. to Kohlschreiber); SF (4): Brisbane (l. to Federer); Rio de Janeiro (l. to Pella); Roland Garros (l. to Djokovic); Halle (l. to F. Mayer); QF: ATP Masters 1000 Rome (l. to Nishikori)
YTD W-L: 49-15 (17-6 on hard)
YTD Titles: 4 / Career Titles: 7
Date of Birth: September 3, 1993
Emirates ATP Ranking: 9
Cincinnati W-L (Best Result): 1-2 (2016 Quarter-finalist)

• Tournament Note: Bidding for 1st ATP Masters 1000 SF after 1R bye, 2R win over Millman and 3R walkover
• Won titles at Buenos Aires (d. Almagro), Acapulco (d. Tomic), Nice (d. A. Zverev) and Stuttgart (d. Kohlschreiber)
• Advanced to 1st Grand Slam QF and SF at Roland Garros (d. Goffin, l. to No. 1 Djokovic)
• Broke into Top 10 and rose to career-high No. 7 in Emirates ATP Rankings on June 6
• Youngest player in Top 10 since Raonic (Aug. 12, 2013), 3rd Austrian overall and 1st since J. Melzer (May 30, 2011)
• Saved 1 MP in Buenos Aires 2R (d. Elias) and SF (d. No. 5 Nadal), as well as 2 MPs in Stuttgart SF (d. No. 3 Federer)
• Runner-up at Munich (l. to Kohlschreiber 76 in 3rd) – only loss in 20 deciding sets this season
• Defeated No. 2 Federer at Rome for biggest win of career by ranking and to reach 2nd ATP Masters 1000 QF
• Reached 1st ATP doubles final at Kitzbühel w/Novak (l. to Koolhof/Middelkoop 11-9 in Match TB after holding 1 MP)
• Earned 1st 3 Davis Cup victories of career to lead Austria to 4-1 win over Portugal in Group I 1R
• Withdrew from Hamburg (illness) and Los Cabos (hip). Retired in Sydney 2R (blisters) and Toronto 2R (hip)