The seeded players in the bottom half of the draw will get started in Cincinnati on Sunday, and that includes Felix Auger-Aliassime and Joao Fonseca. It’s Auger-Aliassime vs. Stefanos Tsitsipas and Fonseca vs. Botic van de Zandschulp.
Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. (2) Felix Auger-Aliassime
Auger-Aliassime and Tsitsipas will be squaring off for the 11th time in their careers when they clash in round two of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday. Tsitsipas leads the head-to-head series 7-3 and has won seven of their last eight encounters since losing their first two back in 2019. They most recently faced each other in the 2025 Dubai final, with the Greek triumphing 6-3, 6-3.
Tsitsipas has been busy since Wimbledon. The world No. 49 captured the title in Gstaad, lost his Washington, D.C. opener, reached the Montreal third round, and defeated Valentin Royer 7-6(4), 7-5 on Thursday. Auger-Aliassime, on the other hand, has not played single match since Wimbledon. The fourth-ranked Canadian was forced to withdraw from his home Masters 1000 tournament due to a back injury, so he arrives in Cincinnati as a major question mark. Neither player can be trusted right now, but in Tsitsipas’ case you at least know he is healthy.
Pick: Tsitsipas in 3
(23) Joao Fonseca vs. Botic van de Zandschulp
Fonseca is coming off a fourth-round performance north of the border (lost to eventual champion Ben Shelton), but he will have to go even deeper in Cincinnati if he wants to secure a top-24 seed at the U.S. Open. The 19-year-old Canadian ousted Tsitsipas and Casper Ruud in Montreal, marking the third time in his last four events that he has won multiple matches.
Up first for the 23rd seed on Sunday is Van de Zandschulp, with the head-to-head series tied 1-1 (both on indoor hard courts). Fonseca prevailed 6-4, 7-6(3) during 2024 Davis Cup action before Van de Zandschulp got the job done 7-5, 7-6(2) at the 2025 Brussels event. Van de Zandschulp also played well in Montreal, beating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, Daniil Medvedev, and Hubert Hurkacz before falling to Jakub Mensik. The word No. 70 opened in Cincinnati with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over lucky loser Aleksandr Shevchenko, so confidence is high. While injuries have been the only thing holding Fonseca back, plenty of factors — a fragile mental game, especially — have held Van de Zandschulp back. We know Fonseca is healthy right now, whereas Van de Zandschulp’s mentality can be all over the place even when he is playing with confidence. Advantage: Fonseca.
Pick: Fonseca in 2
