Not that Jannik Sinner needs the help, but he’s got the easiest draw for the ATP 1000 Cincinnati Open set to get underway Aug. 7.
Sinner, the No. 1 player in the world, is returning to the courts for the first time since his Wimbledon title last month. He’s the top seed and defending champion at Cincinnati, the second of the two ATP 1000 hard-court tournaments leading up to the U.S. Open. And he’s got the most favorable draw for the 96-player event, based on the average world ranking of likely opponents.
Sinner will start the event against a qualifier or No. 80 Vit Kopriva. His likely quarterfinal opponent, world No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti, has struggled since the French Open. His two opponents in major finals this year – No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz and No. 3 Alexander Zverev – are in the opposite half of the draw.
Who got the easiest and toughest draws for the ATP 1000 Cincinnati Open?
Toughest draw for a top seed:
The aforementioned Lorenzo Musetti failed to capitalize on what was statistically the easiest draw at the ongoing ATP 1000 Canadian Open, falling in his second match. Now he faces the toughest draw among the top seeds in Cincinnati. The most likely opponent in Musetti’s first match is No. 41 Matteo Arnaldi. Even if Musetti returns to form, he likely would run into Sinner in the quarterfinals.
Toughest draw overall
Jenson Brooksby will have to earn every win he gets in Cincinnati. He faces No. 40 Alexandre Muller in the first round. If Brooksby advances, he’ll likely face nothing but seeds the rest of the way, with five potential matchups against top 20 players and the (theoretical) possibility of taking on all three of the top seeds (Zverev, Alcaraz, and Sinner).
Best opportunity for an unseeded player
The two qualifiers who will face each other in the first round for the right to face No. 24 seed Denis Shapovalov have a chance to get all the way to the round of 16 before running into a top 10 player. Fabian Marozsan has a similar opportunity in the top half of the draw.
He’ll face a qualifier in the first round for the right to meet struggling world No. 30 Stefanos Tsitsipas in the second round. Musetti would be the likely opponent in the round of 32.