Simon Dalton presents his prediction for the ATP Cincinnati match.
Taylor Fritz goes in as the clear favourite, but Terence Atmane has already shown he can spring a surprise or two this week. The question is whether he has the stamina and quality to live with a top-five ATP player over the course of a full match.
Taylor Fritz
Fritz has made a habit of punishing opponents from the lower reaches of the rankings. Over the past two seasons, he has won all 14 matches against players ranked outside the top 100, taking every one in straight sets. Ten of those victories came by a margin of at least five games. In Cincinnati, Taylor has come through tricky encounters with Emilio Nava (6:4, 6:4) and Lorenzo Sonego (7:6, 7:5), delivering a superb serving display — 25 aces across the two matches and an average of 84% points won behind his first serve.
Terence Atmane
Atmane has been one of the stories of the tournament, coming through qualifying and winning five straight matches. But in that run he’s served 23 double faults and landed only 57% of first serves. He’s also spent twice as much time on court as Fritz, which could be telling in the latter stages. The Frenchman is yet to beat a top-20 opponent (0-3), and this marks his first real step up in Cincinnati.
Taylor Fritz vs Terence Atmane Prediction
Fritz has all the tools to impose his tempo early and shut down any chance of a comeback. Given Atmane’s workload and the American’s record against lower-ranked players, this looks set for a comfortable win by at least four games.
