Cincinnati Masters: 3rd Round / Quarter Finals

Rain interrupted play yesterday with The Wolf’s 5 chipper still pending. Kyrgios and Karlovic are on serve midway through the first set while Rafa is still to take the court for his match. Dimitrov and Sugita both won as outsiders while The Wolf’s pick for the tournament, John Isner, made it through in straight sets. With several players having to back up and play multiple matches on the same day we could see some very interesting results.

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Grigor Dimitrov v Yuichi SugitaThe Wolf couldn’t understand how Dimitrov was 0-4 against Del Potro and he left us with egg on our face after backing the Argentine. Wolfy was less than happy with the outcome especially after having consistently laid Del Potro in recent weeks. Nevertheless, the Bulgarian is through and should really go on with it against Sugita. With Nishikori sidelined Sugita has been lumped with the task of shouldering Japanese hopes and he has showed incredible fight in all three of his wins this week. Grinded his way past Soc before tough three set wins over Sousa and the big hitting Khachanov. Dimitrov came out on top in their only meeting a little over a year ago but it wasn’t easy – three very tight sets. It will take a deciding set to determine the winner making the Overs the bet.
Best Bet: Over 22.5 games ($2.00)

Dominic Thiem v David FerrerFerrer has made some revival in recent weeks and he would be thinking how good it would have been if Djokovic, Murray, Wawrinka and other top ranked players had been sidelined 5 years ago when he was at his peak. The Wolf says he would have won more than his fair share of Masters 1000 events and that elusive slam. Thiem completely overpowered the Spaniard in their only meeting a year ago on clay and Ferrer has had to work awfully tough to get his wins this week. Thiem’s forehand gives his a significant edge from the baseline and The Wolf expects it to be the telling shot in this match.
Best Bet: Thiem WIN ($1.53)

Jared Donaldson v John IsnerJohn Isner faces yet another young America after having accounted for Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe. The man with the most effective serve in the game has been unbreakable this week and it should come as no surprise. He is yet to have his serve broken and is a perfect 2 from 2 in breakers. On the flipside, despite dropping just the one set, Donaldson’s serve has been broken on 5 occasions. The Wolf will continue to ride Isner over the coming weeks. It will be a hot day in Cincy and the Isner serve will be zipping off the court. A rattled Donaldson will have no answer.
Best Bet: Sets Isner 2-0 ($2.10)