World number one Novak Djokovic will take on the 23rd-ranked Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the second round of the 2023 ATP Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday, August 16. Get the predictions and odds of this Novak Djokovic v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina match along with its preview, head to head, and tips here.
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Novak Djokovic v Alejandro Davidovich Fokina Head to Head
Djokovic has won three of the four matches that he has played against Fokina including one at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 on a hardcourt surface. Fokina’s only win came at the 2022 Monte-Carlo Masters.
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Djokovic Returns after Wimbledon Finals Loss
A defeat at the hands of Carlos Alcaraz in the final of Wimbledon this year looked to have stunned Djokovic a bit, both mentally and physically. As a result, the world number two took a break from tennis for about a month, opting out of the Canadian Masters citing exhaustion.
Djokovic is back now though and in all probabilities, very refreshed and raring to go.
And he enters a tournament which he hasn’t been a part of since 2019, having won this title once before in 2018. Interestingly, Djokovic has made the final at the Cincinnati Masters on five other occasions too between 2008 and 2015, but lost every single time – thrice to Roger Federer and twice to Andy Murray.
This time around though Djokovic will play here as a tune-up to the US Open where he could face a different kind of a challenge than most of the previous seasons. The old guard is nearly gone and he could be tested by the youth – Carlos Alcaraz, Holger Rune, Daniil Medvedev and the likes.
Can Djokovic start things off with an easy win?
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Fokina Eases Past Etcheverry
Having put up a strong showing at the Canadian Masters last week, the one question on everyone’s lips was if Fokina had enough to recover from that tournament as he took to court within three days of his semifinal appearance in Canada.
Fokina, whose Canadian Open campaign was ended by Alex de Minaur in the semifinal of that competition last week, raced past Tomas Etcheverry 6-3, 6-3 to seal his place in the second round.
The in-form Fokina, coming off wins over Casper Ruud and Alexander Zverev last week, needed just an hour and 18 minutes but was forced to overcome two breaks of serves in the encounter.
The first of those two came in the first set when Fokina had gone 4-0 up with two breaks of serves. Fokina would then drop his serve after having taken a 1-0 lead with a break, but from that point onward, he broke Etcheverry twice more to claim the match.
Things will change dramatically as far as his opponent quality goes and that could lead to an intriguing contest here.
Djokovic v Fokina Prediction and Tip
While Djokovic should win this despite the break in tennis rhythm we think Fokina could test him out. Going with Djokovic to win in three.
Tips:
- High Risk Tip: Djokovic to win three sets: 3/1
The 2023 ATP Cincinnati Open will be played from August 13 to 20. You can get all the tennis betting news with our tennis betting blog here. Also get rest of the tennis match previews here.
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