Cincinnati 2nd Round Preview / Predictions for Tuesday: Roger returns

There were quite a few upsets in the mens draw last night as Nicolas Almagro (l. to Dimitrov), Jerzy Janowicz (l. to Blake) and Fabio Fognini (l. to Stepanek) all went out in the first round.  Of course the big news and the most uplifting story of the day was Alisa Kleybanova claiming her first win of 2013 with a stunning 4-6 6-4 7-6(7) victory over the qualifier, Sofia Arvidsson.  Kleybanova is making her second return to the tour after battling against Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2011 and to see her come through a match lasting 2 hours and 41 minutes and win is extremely encouraging :-)

1. Roger Federer v Philipp Kohlschreiber (Cincy, R2)

Roger Federer

Cincy is a huge tournament for Roger Federer as he comes in as the defending champion, which means an early exit could quite conceivably result in another drop in the rankings.  His preparations have not been ideal with losses to Federico Delbonis and Daniel Brands in Hamburg and Gstaad respectively.  Back spasms hampered him throughout and he was forced to pull out of Montreal last week.  His first match will not be a straightforward one as Philipp Kohlschreiber can play some sparkling tennis on his day.  The German player beat Mardy Fish, 7-5 6-2 in the first main draw match on Centre Court.  Federer holds a 6-0 head-to-head lead over Kohlschreiber, but I think he could lose a set in this one.

Prediction - Federer to beat Kohlschreiber in 3 sets

Best of the rest: 2nd round WTA Cincy predictions
Victoria Azarenka to beat Vania King in 2 sets
Maria Sharapova to beat Sloane Stephens in 2 very tight sets

Best of the rest: 2nd round ATP Cincy predictions
David Ferrer to beat Ryan Harrison in 2 tight sets
Grigor Dimitrov to beat Brian Baker in 3 sets
Julien Benneteau to beat Radek Stepanek in 2 tight sets