Andy Murray will be back in action when he takes the court for the Western & Southern Open quarterfinals on Friday. Standing in his way of the final four is Bernard Tomic. Among those also in action are Milos Raonic, Dominic Thiem, Marin Cilic, and Borna Coric. Coric is coming off a straight-set upset of Rafael Nadal.
Ricky previews the day’s best matchups and makes his predictions:
(1) Andy Murray vs. Bernard Tomic
Murray and Tomic will be facing each other for the fifth time in their careers on Friday. All four of their previous meetings have gone Murray’s way, and he has never even surrendered a single set to Tomic. The world No. 2 prevailed 6-3, 6-2 at the 2012 Brisbane event, 6-3, 6-1 at the 2013 Miami Masters, 7-5, 6-3, 6-2 in a 2015 Davis Cup rubber, and 6-4, 6-4, 7-6(4) earlier this season at the Australian Open.
Fresh off another gold medal in singles at the Rio Olympics, Murray has refused to slow down in Cincinnati. The top seed kicked off his week with a 6-3, 6-2 defeat of Juan Monaco before cruising past Kevin Anderson by the exact same scoreline on Thursday. A surprising run by Tomic has included victories over Joao Sousa, David Goffin, and Kei Nishikori. The Australian is 28-19 for the year and he can earn a top 16 seed at the U.S. Open if he upsets Murray.
Pick: Murray in 2
(4) Milos Raonic vs. (8) Dominic Thiem
Raonic and Thiem will be squaring off for the first time in their careers on Friday. The latter stages of Masters 1000 tournaments are exactly where both players belong these days, although Thiem’s status going into Cincinnati was uncertain–to put it mildly. The world No. 9 is an outstanding 49-15 for his 2016 campaign, but his momentum has stalled recently due to injury and fatigue. Thiem opened in Cincinnati with a 7-5, 6-1 win over John Millman before getting a walkover from an in-form but injured Gael Monfils.
It was the Frenchman who stopped Raonic’s hopes as the crowd favorite in Toronto, but the Canadian is on course for greater success in Cincinnati. Well rested after bypassing the Rio Olympics, Raonic defeated John Isner 7-6(5), 7-6(5) in round two before battling past Yuichi Sugita 6-1, 3-6, 6-1 on Thursday evening.
Pick: Raonic in 2
(12) Marin Cilic vs. Borna Coric
It will be a contest between Croatian Davis Cup teammates when Cilic and Coric collide on Friday. Their only previous encounter came last season in Dubai, where Cilic rolled 6-1, 6-2. Despite having been dealt a difficult Cincinnati draw, Coric has managed to give himself another crack at his higher-ranked compatriot. The 19-year-old ousted Benoit Paire in three sets, surprised Nick Kyrgios 7-6(2), 4-6, 7-6(6), and then took advantage of a less-than-100 percent Nadal to score a 6-1, 6-3 win on Thursday.
Cilic won the Goran Ivanisevic Bowl on Thursday night, pulling out a 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 victory over Tomas Berdych (now coached by Ivanisevic after the 2001 Wimbledon winner split from Cilic a few weeks back). The 12th seed preceded that result by crushing Viktor Troicki and Fernando Verdasco in routine straight sets.
Pick: Cilic in 2
Topics: 10sballs.com, Andy Murray, Bernard Tomic, Borna Coric, Cincinnati, Cincy Tennis, Dominic Thiem, Marin Cilic, milos raonic, Ricky Dimon, Sports, Tennis News, Western & Southern Open, WSOpen