Thursday’s schedule in Cincinnati is overflowing with appealing contests. ATP third round singles action is especially stacked, featuring 11 of the world’s top 20, including world No.1 Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz. WTA action features top names such as world No.1 Iga Swiatek and reigning US Open champion Emma Raducanu.
Each day, this preview will analyze the two most intriguing matchups, while highlighting other notable matches on the schedule. Thursday’s play gets underway at 11:00am local time.
Jessica Pegula (7) vs. Emma Raducanu (10) – Not Before 7:00pm on Center Court
It’s been a tough season for Raducanu, but she seems to be peaking just in time for her US Open title defense. The 19-year-old followed up her comfortable victory over Serena Williams by dominating Victoria Azarenka 6-0, 6-2. She is currently in a trial coaching relationship with Dmitry Tursunov, who in recent years guided the careers of two other WTA players to new heights (Sabalenka, Kontaveit). That partnership appears to be paying immediate dividends for Emma, much like Tursunov’s coaching did for Aryna and Anett. Pegula has become the American No.1, and since last August, has reached the semifinals at three WTA 1000 events in North America, including just last week in Toronto. But in their first career meeting, Raducanu’s blistering form this week makes her the favorite.
Felix Auger-Aliassime (7) vs. Jannik Sinner (10) – Not Before 7:00pm on Grand Stand
This is a rematch from three months ago at the Madrid Masters 1000 event, where Auger-Aliassime crushed Sinner 6-1, 6-2. That was an especially surprising result on clay, which is not Felix’s best surface. The 22-year-old Canadian is now 35-19 on the year, and defeated Alex de Minaur in straight sets on Wednesday. Sinner has a slightly better record of 38-10, and on Tuesday, outlasted Thanasi Kokkinakis in an over three-hour match decided by a third-set tiebreak. Over the last few months, Sinner has been the more in-form player. Jannik has won nine of his last 11 matches, while Felix has only managed five of his last 10. With not much separating their abilities, confidence may be key, and that’s to Sinner’s advantage.
Other Notable Matches on Thursday:
Taylor Fritz (11) vs. Andrey Rublev (6) – Fritz easily dismissed of an obviously-hampered Nick Kyrgios on Wednesday. Rublev came back from a set down to take out Fabio Fognini. Taylor is 3-2 against Andrey, which includes a straight set victory earlier this year at Indian Wells.
Petra Kvitova vs. Ons Jabeur (5) – Jabeur saved three match points on Wednesday against Ohio native Katy McNally. A round earlier, Kvitova saved match point against last year’s runner-up, Jil Teichmann. Petra leads their head-to-head 3-1, though Ons earned her first win in their friendly rivalry this season.
Iga Swiatek (1) vs. Madison Keys – On Wednesday, Swiatek outlasted the other finalist from the 2017 US Open, Sloane Stephens. On the same day, Keys ousted another French Open champion, Jelena Ostapenko.
Daniil Medvedev (1) vs. Denis Shapovalov – This week, Shapovalov has earned his first back-to-back wins since May. He has split four previous meetings with Medvedev, though Daniil has claimed their most recent two.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) vs. Diego Schwartzman (13) – Schwartzman already survived two three-setters this week. He’s 2-2 overall against Tsitsipas, though Diego has taken both of their matches on hard courts.
Marin Cilic (14) vs. Carlos Alcaraz (3) – Cilic won this event in 2016. He’s 1-1 against Alcaraz, who is now 43-8 in 2022.
Thursday’s full Order of Play is here.
