Jiri Lehecka vs Mariano Navone Prediction & Betting Tips - ATP Cincinnati Open

Prediction published on 12/08/2024, 10:44  by Steve Ashfield | Modified on 12/08/2024 at 11:11 in ATP Cincinnati Open Predictions

Jiri Lehecka takes on Mariano Navone looking to boost his ranking ahead of the US Open. This is the first round of the Cincinnati Masters which is being played on a hard court. Who'll win? Find out in our match prediction.

Lehecka was ranked 29th last week but has slipped to 35th in the new rankings. That's because he withdrew from last week's Rogers Cup and failed to defend the points he won there in 2023. He's now outside the top 32 and faces being unseeded at the upcoming US Open.

The 22-year-old hasn't played since April when reaching the last four of the Madrid Masters clay court tournament. He had to retire from his match against Felix Auger-Aliassime due to back spasms and is now on the comeback trail.

On hard courts this year, Lehecka won the Adelaide tournament and has reached two other quarter-finals. 

Mariano Navone is 38th in the live rankings and was as high as 29th in June of this year. The 23-year-old comes into this tournament having lost his last two matches. He did play in Montreal but lost in his first match against Taylor Fritz.

Before that he made a second round exit in the Paris Olympics. His success this year has been achieved on clay and he's rarely played on hard courts. That's illustrated by a record of 0-2 on this surface. We tip the returning Lehecka to win this in straight sets.