Throughout the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, we'll preview the upcoming days' must-see matches.
Karolina Pliskova vs. Garbiñe Muguruza
Make sure you have your coffee, because the day starts with a shootout at high noon in Cincy. Pliskova and Muguruza both hit hard, they hit flat, they go for winners whenever possible. That style has taken one of them to No. 1, and the other to two Grand Slam titles. But when they face each other, it’s Pliskova, for some reason, who does it better. The defending Cincinnati champ is 6-1 against Muguruza. But the Spaniard has been competing well all week, and this will be their first meeting since she won Wimbledon.
Winner: Pliskova
Grigor Dimitrov vs. John Isner
The 19th-ranked American and the 11th-ranked Bulgarian have faced off just once, two years ago in Miami, and the American won in straight sets. One of those sets went to a tiebreaker, naturally, and this one will probably be decided by just a few points. Both of these guys, neither of whom has dropped a set this week, have been winning those points. But if Isner, who reached the Cincy final in 2013, is playing well, he’s probably a little tougher to find a way to overcome.
Winner: Isner
Simona Halep vs. Sloane Stephens
Halep leads the head to head with Stephens 4-2, and she’s won their last three meetings, all in straight sets. The last one came just a couple of weeks ago in Washington, D.C. Halep will be favored to do it again on Saturday; her defense was virtually impenetrable for much of her win over Jo Konta in the quarterfinals. At the same time, this is obviously not the Sloane we used to know. She has been playing with a calm sense of purpose the last two weeks, and winning the clutch points at the end of sets. But I think Halep will make her hit one—or two, or 10—too many shots to do it again.
Winner: Halep
Nick Kyrgios vs. David Ferrer
The day will close with a clash of opposites, between the nonchalant Aussie and the ever-grinding Spaniard. The two have played one time, in the first round of the US Open in 2013, back when Ferrer was in the Top 5 and Kyrgios had hardly cracked the Top 200; not surprisingly, the Little Beast won in straights. This time it should be more interesting: If Kyrgios can maintain the level he reached against Rafael Nadal last night, he’ll win. But that won’t be easy, because Ferrer, who is back in beast mode, likely won’t give him the head start that Rafa did on Friday.
Winner: Kyrgios
