Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the ATP Cincinnati match.
Brandon Nakashima continues to show excellent form and will be aiming for a place in the fourth round of his home Masters event. His opponent, Alexander Zverev, is traditionally strong in Cincinnati but doesn’t look quite as convincing at the moment.
Brandon Nakashima
Nakashima has beaten eight top-100 players across his last five tournaments, and at the Toronto Masters he came close to upsetting Ben Shelton, with their match featuring three tie-breaks. His hard-court encounters often go the distance: in seven of his last ten matches, the total games exceeded 21.5, with tie-breaks occurring 11 times in that stretch. Even here in Cincinnati, Brandon edged Alexander Blockx in a deciding set tie-break to knock out the Belgian.
Alexander Zverev
Zverev has looked shaky in this part of the season. Following a shock first-round elimination at Wimbledon, he was also unconvincing in Toronto. The German dropped sets to both Alexei Popyrin and Matteo Arnaldi, needed a tie-break to get past Adam Walton, and played a 32-game marathon against Karen Khachanov. Still, Cincinnati is a stronghold for him — 13 wins in his last 15 matches here, including victories over Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud and Daniil Medvedev.
Brandon Nakashima vs Alexander Zverev Prediction
He dealt with Nishesh Basavareddy without much trouble (6:3, 6:3), but now faces Nakashima in red-hot form. The American has taken at least one set off Zverev twice before, and their most recent clash saw the total games exceed 22. A similar scenario looks likely this time: expect them to reach at least 22 games, with Alexander ultimately coming out on top as he has in all four of their previous meetings.
