On Thursday, Casper Ruud and Felix Auger-Aliassime will face each other for the third time this season at the ATP Cincinnati Masters. It’s fair to say that the Canadian played two of his best matches this year against this opponent and they were instrumental in his two long runs – the final in Madrid and fourth place at the Olympics. Who do you think will win this time?

ATP Cincinnati, predictions for day 4

Alexander Zverev vs Karen Khachanov

Direct comparison: Zverev 4-2

Karen Khachanov has looked a little lost on the court recently, but he is improving somewhat after his low point in Washington with his performance against Seong-chan Hong. He will really need to perform against Alexander Zverev. The German leads the ATP Tour in terms of games won this year and is extremely consistent in making his opponent fight his way through. Khachanov needs to be able to hit very freely and he doesn’t seem to be able to do that at the moment.
Prediction: Zverev in 2

Max Purcell vs Pablo Carreno Busta

Direct comparison: First meeting

Max Purcell reached the quarterfinals in Cincinnati last year and the wildcard for this edition could be hugely important for him, especially now that he beat Tomas Machac in the first round. But Pablo Carreno Busta is also back to where he was. Last week he beat Fabian Marozsan and now faces the in-form Sebastian Korda. Perhaps the experienced Spaniard can enjoy this matchup too. Odd playing styles like Purcell’s tend to be less effective against players who have the experience to deal with them.
Prediction: Carreno Busta in 3

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Fabian Marozsan vs Grigor Dimitrov

Direct comparison: Dimitrov 1:0

Losing to Alexei Popyrin looked like a rare failure for Grigor Dimitrov, but hindsight makes it look much better. Fabian Marozsan can be a threat to anyone on a good day and a faster court like this takes away some of his strengths (the incredible drop shot) and opens up new opportunities for him to win. However, Dimitrov had the Hungarian so well under control at the French Open and gave him no chance at all. The former champion should probably do it again.
Prediction: Dimitrov in 3

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Casper Ruud vs Felix Auger-Aliassime

Direct comparison: 4-4

Felix Auger-Aliassime played probably the two best matches of his season against Casper Ruud, the fourth round in Madrid and the Olympic quarterfinals. This is quite surprising as the Norwegian is not an opponent he particularly enjoyed playing against, even during his best season in 2022. But now that we are here, maybe he can keep it up? Ruud was a bit ill last week and has been pushed too easily on the defensive in some matches recently. Auger-Aliassime could capitalize on this with his recent confidence.
Prediction: Auger-Aliassime in 3

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