Alex de Minaur looks every bit a contender for the 2023 U.S. Open in a couple of weeks.
The 24-year-old Aussie has ripped through the North American hard-court season and is coming off a trip to the finals at the Toronto Masters, where he beat Cam Norrie, Taylor Fritz and Daniil Medvedev before losing to Jannik Sinner.
It was the second consecutive runner-up for de Minaur, who won his first ATP 500 title on a hard court in Mexico earlier this year.
Alex de Minaur vs. JJ Wolf prediction
(5:05 p.m. ET.)
While things are pointing in the right direction for de Minaur to have a big showing in Flushing, you have to wonder where his level will be this week in Cincinnati.
De Minaur has played a lot of tennis — he made it to the finals in Los Cabos earlier this month and has played 13 matches since July 24 — and will want to be fresh for the Open.
Thus, it should not be a surprise if de Minaur’s level drops a bit at the Cincinnati Masters, where he’s slated to take on former Ohio State Buckeye JJ Wolf in Round 1.
Wolf hasn’t enjoyed the same amount of success as de Minaur over the last few weeks, but the Ohio native is in decent form with five wins and three losses during the North American swing.
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With the crowd on his side and a rest advantage to work with, Wolf should be a live underdog Tuesday.
THE PLAY: JJ Wolf +160 (FanDuel)