Diego Schwartzman vs Reilly Opelka Western & Southern Open 2020: Preview, Head-To-Head and Prediction

The ATP season has restarted with the tournaments in US being the curtain-raiser. Keeping in mind next week’s US Open, the Western and Southern Open also known as Cincinnati Open will be extensively used by the players to prepare for the Grand Slam. We are into the third day of the tournament and we have witnessed some great contests and some upsets as well. In the second round now we have USA’s Reilly Opelka and Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman facing off against each other

If you look at their 2020 campaign, Schwartzman has had a decent run, where he reached the fourth round of Australian Open only to be beaten by the eventual champion Novak Djokovic. Opelka though would have hoped for a better start to 2020. Lost to Fabio Fognini in a 5 set thriller in the first round of the Australian Open.

Preview: Reilly Opelka vs Diego Schwartzman

Schwartzman is ranked 13th whereas Opelka is 39. And both of them have had contrasting lockdowns. The Cincinnati Open is Schwartzman’s first tournament in 6 months. So he is playing for the first time in 6 months. Whereas Opelka played some exhibition tournaments in the US.

Schwartzman had a good win against Casper Ruud in the first round. He nearly took two hours to overcome him. Schwartzman showed signs of rustiness and should get better as the days progress. But still looks strong and solid. With Opelka being a strong server, Schwartzman will have to continue his strong returns.

Opelka delivered a strong performance in the first round. He beat Cameron Norrie. Being 6 foot 11 inches Opelka used his height well as he served fiery aces and was strong in his service games. He will look to trouble Schwartzman with his service and will look out to minimize Schwartzman’s dangerous returns.

Head-to-head record: Opelka vs Schwartzman

There are level in the head-to-head at 1-1. Interestingly all their meetings have been in ATP 1000 masters tournaments. And their 3rd one will also be in an ATP 1000 tournament. The last time they played each other was in the 2019 Miami Open. Opelka won that contest in three sets. By the look of their matches, Opelka and Schwartzman deliver long grueling matches.

Prediction: Opelka vs Schwartzman

Opelka has shown he can be unbeatable on his serve. Being tall he gets some very good serves on the line. But Schwartzman is a very good returner. He has played against big servers and understood how to tackle their serve. He reads serves well and if he learns and breaks Opelka’s serve he will assert his dominance.

Prediction: Diego Schwartzman to win in two sets.