ATP Masters in Cincinnati, 1st round, Tuesday, 15.08.2023
Two German winners in the history of the tournament? Admittedly, the Cincinnati Masters is not exactly the favourite competition of the players in black-red-gold! Will things finally be different in 2023?
Admittedly, the world number 50 is not exactly one of the players you have on your mind in terms of a triumph. Especially not when you’re the underdog right away in the 1st round at Bet365.
In my McDonald Hanfmann tip, I therefore reveal why I, too, unfortunately see no chance at all of a German success!
The year 2023, it is already a successful one for Yannick Hanfmann. The 31-year-old has had some very successful tournaments and has also put one or two big names in their place.
In the last few months, however, he has had to cope with a small downward trend, the results are no longer quite as strong. In Wimbledon, he was knocked out in the first round against Taylor Fritz, but a five-set defeat is acceptable.
Gstaad, Hamburg and Kitzbühel were not his best performances. He won two matches in total, which was not the hemp man we have seen several times this year.
In Gstaad, he was defeated by Hamad Mededovic, a little later on the Elbe by Zhizhen Zhang. Recently in Kitzbühel he had the worst possible start, losing 6-7, 3-6 against Arthur Rinderknecht.
Interestingly, since the French Open, the German’s results, in the round in which he is eliminated, have either featured more than two (or, of course, three in a Grand Slam) sets or a tiebreak.
What about his record at the Cincinnati Masters? Quite simple: there is none yet, because Hanfmann is taking part in this tournament for the first time. But he has already met his current opponent twice.
Mackenzie McDonald is 15 centimetres shorter than the German and seven positions higher in the rankings. The two previous direct duels were both held in a qualifier, and were also quite long ago.
In both 2015 and 2015, the US player triumphed, who is also rated higher this time by our betting providers. The odds average 1.43 to 2.75, so Hanfmann will have to stretch himself quite a bit.
Mackenzie McDonald is not only the favourite because he is slightly higher in the rankings, his recent performances have also led to this assessment. At the Masters in Toronto a few days ago, he reached the quarter-finals!
His strongest performance was that he defeated Aslan Karatsev, Andrey Rublev and Denis Shapovalov outright. Only Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina, who had also outplayed Alexander Zverev, was too much for him to handle.
The US American is only 1.78 metres tall, and yet he didn’t let a world star like Rublev break him even once. No question, if he continues like this, he should crack the world’s top 30 in the foreseeable future.
By the way, McDonald made his debut here in Cincinnati ten years ago, but he is still waiting for a really good result. He made it past the first hurdle in his last two attempts before he was unlucky to lose to Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz.
But that also means that the American could get through the first round for the third time in a row. In 2022, he had swept Nikolos Bassilashvili from the field with 6-0, 6-1, although the latter was ranked 34th in the world at the time.
My McDonald Hemp Man Tip
Admittedly, Yannick Hanfmann is not one of the players you particularly trust in Cincinnati. Also because the German has drawn a really challenging opponent right from the start. Mackenzie McDonald is in very good shape without any ifs and buts.
He knows the tournament much better than Hanfmann, beat players like Shapovalov and Rublev a few days ago, and he also won twice against his current rival years ago. Therefore, I unfortunately have to send the following tip into the race:
McDonald wins outright against Hanfmann!
