Cincinnati Masters: 1st Round (Wed)

The Wolf got us off to a great start with his 5 chipper overnight and he has found a stack of specials as first round action continues. Aussie Nick Kyrgios faces a stern challenge in the way of David Goffin while Berdych and Del Potro clash in a battle of two of the biggest games on tour.

The big news of the day came when Federer decided to withdraw from the tournament due to a back injury. He will take the week off in order to recover and focus on the US Open. It means that Nadal will reclaim the number 1 ranking and it really opens up the draw!

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Juan Martin Del Potro v Tomas Berdych

Wolfy is shocked to see Del Potro installed as favourite for this one! He is just 8-6 on hard courts this season and has registered back to back wins in just 2 of his last 11 tournament appearances. The road back from injury has not been an easy one and he is hovering around number 30 in the rankings. Berdych on the other hand has made at least the semi’s on 5 occasions this season including Wimbledon. The H2H reads 4 wins a piece with Berdych winning their most recent encounters last year. Berdych took last week off due to a rib injury but it will not hinder him this week as he goes in search of some winning form to take with him to Flushing Meadows. As an outsider he is definitely a bet!

Best Bet: Berdych +1.5 ($1.80)

David Goffin v Nick Kyrgios

A poor run of form has seen Kyrgios lose his seed status and that means a very tough first round draw. He is 2-0 lifetime against Goffin including a win over him in Miami earlier this year but by no means is he in the form that he was then. Similarly, Goffin is also struggling. A fixture in the top 10 last year he was expected to improve even further with so many of the top players sitting out. It has not been the case and we have seen him lose to Chung, Haase and Dodig over the last month. One thing we do know is that Goffin will compete until the very end. With Kyrgios we cannot be sure. He looked very flat against Zverev in Montreal last week and a hip injury continues to be a source of concern. Wolfy is happy to lay Kyrgios and back Goffin for the outright win.

Best: Goffin WIN ($2.50)

Steve Johnson v David Ferrer

The hard courts have been far from kind to Johnson in recent weeks and in a time when he was supposed to tally up some wins he has been disappointing to say the least. He has now lost his last three matches dating back to Wimbledon and has become increasingly frustrated when matches are in the balance. He is rather one dimensional form the baseline where he relies heavily on his forehand and players are starting to figure him out. Ferrer has the experience and tools to really frustrate the American. The veteran had a run of inconsistent results leading into Wimbledon but a title winning run in Bastad has seen him get back some much needed confidence. He beat Edmund and Sock last week, men with very similar games to Johnson, before taking a set off Federer – a man that he has never beat. Johnson will need to be close to his best to challenge Ferrer and The Wolf just cannot see him producing the performance required.

Best Bet: Ferrer WIN ($1.80)