Frances Tiafoe vs Stan Wawrinka Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Cincinnati Open

Prediction published on 16/08/2023, 05:15  by Devesh Jaganath | Modified on 16/08/2023 at 15:26 in Tennis Predictions

World number ten Frances Tiafoe will take on wildcard Stanislas Wawrinka in the second round of the ATP Cincinnati Open on Thursday. The winner of this match will move on to face Max Purcell in the next round. These two have met three times in the past, with Wawrinka winning all three encounters. Two of those three wins came on the hard court. The Swiss comes into this match following an excellent run at the Umag Open, where he reached the final but was beaten by Alexei Popyrin in three sets. That followed a second-round exit at Gstaad and a third-round finish at Wimbledon, though those were on the clay and grass surfaces, respectively. His performances over the last month and a half have seen his world ranking improve from outside the top 70 to inside the top 50 coming into this match. Wawrinka overcame Brandon Nakashima in the first round here in Cincinnati. In that match, Wawrinka faced eight break points but saved them all while managing to break his opponent on two occasions. He is now 25-15 for the year and 5-3 on the hard court. Despite holding the advantage in the head-to-head standings, Wawrinka is the outsider, according to the bookmakers. 

Meanwhile, Frances Tiafoe comes into this tournament following a disappointing first-round exit at the Canada Masters last week. He was beaten by wildcard Milos Raonic in three closely contested sets, with two going to tiebreakers. After winning the tournament in Stuttgart on the grass back in June, Tiafoe has made a second-round appearance at the Queen's Club and reached round three at Wimbledon. He has had time to adapt to the hard surface as well, having reached the third round in Washington at the end of last month. The American has already earned two tournament titles this season in Houston and Stuttgart, though neither were on the hard surface. His best outcome on the hard was a semi-final appearance at Indian Wells, where he was narrowly beaten by Daniil Medvedev. His consistency this season has helped his world ranking, currently at his peak of tenth, having started the season in 20th place. Tiafoe is now 33-13 for the year and 17-6 on the hard court. His current hard court record is the best he has maintained over the last five seasons. As a result, he holds the tag of favorite for this match but will have to overcome an opponent that has gotten the better of him in the past.