Stefanos Tsitsipas tips the American player he thinks could win the Cincinnati Open this year

Follow us on Google Discover

Stefanos Tsitsipas has tipped a player to be a major threat at the Cincinnati Masters.

The 26-year-old is back on the hard courts as he commenced his road to the US Open in Montreal.

After Tsitsipas missed out on an Olympic medal, he was desperate to have a solid run in Canada and boost his chances of retuning to the world’s top 10.

But the Greek player’s campaign in Montreal is already over after Kei Nishikori become the lowest ranked player to reach the last 16 at a Masters 1000 since the format began in 1990.

Now the World number 11 is watching from the sidelines and is looking at which of his colleagues can go on to win the title.

Who does Stefanos Tsitsipas think will win the Cincinnati Masters?

The players are doing their best to build form and momentum before heading to the US Open, the final Grand Slam of the year.

The transition to the hard courts for the players who just competed on clay at the Paris Olympics is a significant challenge to overcome.

But there is one player who did not play at the Olympic Games that Stefanos Tsitsipas thinks has a great chance of winning the Cincinnati Masters.

“Ben Shelton. He’s got a big serve,” Tsitsipas told reporters. “He can rally and come up with some big shots from time to time.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas makes shocking start to summer North American hard court swing

Tsitsipas picked Ben Shelton to have a strong campaign in Canada and Cincinnati, and after Shelton beat Alexander Bublik in Montreal to book his spot in the next round, he lost 4-6, 6-7(4) to Alexei Popyrin.

Tsitsipas himself went crashing out of the tournament following a surprising straight sets loss to Nishikori. The Japanese won 60% of points on his opponents’ second serve and claimed 92% of points at the net.

“It means a lot,” Nishikori said after reaching the third round. “I am playing well and feels I am back on track again, so I am really happy with the way I played today.

“Beating Stef is not easy and for me it is a great win,” Nishikori added. “I stayed aggressive and was not missing too many balls today. It was much better than the first round.”