Rafael Nadal and Alexander Zverev remain alive in the 2017 Cincinnati draw. Perhaps many might find that statement a little bit odd given that they have yet to contest a match and, from that point of view, could not have been eliminated yet. However, with all the players that have been out injured, it seems that simply making it to your first match is quite the accomplishment these days.
Both Nadal and Zverev are on the order of play for Wednesday at the 2017 Cincinnati Masters (the Western & Southern Open).
Nadal is undefeated against Gasquet
Nadal will face Richard Gasquet, a talented player, but one that the Spaniard has matched-up well against over the years. Nadal carries a 14-0 record into the match against Gasquet and will look to improve on that. The two players will be the showcourt's main event on Tuesday night, scheduled to start around 8:30 P.M. local time in Cincinnati.
Four other matches will precede them on Cincinnati's main court. Zverev, who will be third up on the court, will face American wild-card Frances Tiafoe, a respectable player that is starting to emerge as a mild force on tour.
The contenders for the #NextGen tournament at the end of the season have faced one another twice so far in their young careers. Both of the meetings were in Grand Slam matches as Zverev eliminated Tiafoe from both the Australian Open and Wimbledon. In each case, the German defeated the American in straight sets without going to a tiebreaker. Tiafoe does have a better chance of winning in Cincinnati, perhaps partly due to what will be a partisan American crowd. However, just as importantly, Zverev must be tired following two title runs in the last two weeks from Montreal and Washington.
That Zverev hasn't tapped out of the Cincinnati draw is impressive given what his schedule has been like in recent weeks.
Certainly a lot of other players have withdrawn, even after the release of the draw. Without even looking at the pre-tournament withdrawals, Roger Federer, Gael Monfils, and Kei Nishikori were all out as of Monday. On Tuesday, Milos Raonic, amidst speculation that he would withdraw, did in fact pull out with his left-wrist problem.
Other players scheduled for action
Other men's players on Cincinnati's main court for Wednesday include Grigor Dimitrov and Feliciano Lopez. They will face one another to open the court for the day (stadium start time 11am). Big names on the order of play for the other courts include Juan Martin del Potro, Nick Kyrgios, Sam Querrey, and David Ferrer. There are a lot of smaller names too as some journeymen are finding post-first-round spots in draws due to all the injuries. No less than four lucky losers appear on the order of play for men's singles. The only one with a noteworthy career to date is Janko Tipsarevic, the former top-ten player from Serbia.