Zverev, Winless In Cincy, Eyes ‘Breakthrough Week’

Alexander Zverev has won three ATP Masters 1000 titles, including one on hard court at the 2017 Coupe Rogers in Montreal. Surely the German has had plenty of success at this week’s Western & Southern Open, a hard-court Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati.

Try 0-4. All four times Zverev has lost three-setters, including last year against Dutchman Robin Haase. Two years ago, following Zverev’s Montreal title, #NextGenATP American Frances Tiafoe upset the Top 10 mainstay.

“It’s a place where I’ve never won a match so far in my life, but I hope I can change it now and hopefully make a deep run here,” Zverev said.

The German has reason for optimism. At three of his past four tournaments, he has made the quarter-finals or better, including last week during his return to Montreal, where he reached the last eight before falling to Russian Karen Khachanov in straight sets.

“My performance hasn’t been the best still, obviously I got to the quarter-finals. I had a great match in the [opener] and then my level actually went backwards a little bit, the longer the tournament went,” Zverev said.

“I didn’t have success here yet, but I hope it will change this year, and this maybe will be my breakthrough week. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m excited to be back here.”

The World No. 6 will face #NextGenATP Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic on Wednesday. Kecmanovic is looking to make his second Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season this week. Kecmanovic made the quarter-finals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells in March. The 19-year-old beat World No. 21 Felix Auger-Aliassime in straight sets to make the second round in Cincinnati.

Citi Open champion Nick Kyrgios and the eighth-seeded Khachanov will play the final match on Centre Court during their first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting. Kyrgios will look to take a step closer to his second Cincinnati final (2017, l. to Dimitrov).

A number of other seeds get their Cincy campaigns going: Fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas faces Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany; 11^th seed Roberto Bautista Agut, Wimbledon semi-finalist, tangles with Tiafoe; and sixth seed Kei Nishikori plays the first match on Grandstand against countryman Yoshihito Nishioka.

ORDER OF PLAY – WEDNESDAY 14 AUGUST 2019
CENTRE COURT start 11:00 am
WTA Match

Not Before 1:00 pm
WTA Match
[7] Alexander Zverev (GER) vs [Q] Miomir Kecmanovic (SRB)
WTA Match

Not Before 8:30 pm
Nick Kyrgios (AUS) vs [8] Karen Khachanov (RUS)

GRANDSTAND start 11:00 am
[6] Kei Nishikori (JPN) vs [Q] Yoshihito Nishioka (JPN)
Jan-Lennard Struff (GER) vs [5] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE)
WTA Match

Not Before 7:00 pm
Frances Tiafoe (USA) vs [11] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP)
[8] Bob Bryan (USA) / Mike Bryan (USA) vs Ivan Dodig (CRO) / Filip Polasek (SVK)

Click here to view Wednesday’s entire schedule.