It's all about recovery...

Is the Canadian fit to fight?

That is the main question, isn't it? Shapovalov was starting to string some wins together in Los Cabos, but unfortunately injured himself in the final. Despite this, he decided to play in Canada in front of the home fans... but was unable to finish his first-round match, retiring in the middle of the third set! In that match, he looked alright at first, but was more or less unable to move properly after a while. After the match, he said he really had to push himself and that he would evaluate whether he could play in Cincinnati. Therefore, we kind of have to assume that, if he plays, his ankle has actually improved. Still, it could be something that feels better in practice and at the start of the match, but starts troubling him again as the match progresses.

As for Mannarino, what do we make of his three matches so far on hardcourt? It was a big straight-set domination win against Tien, who looked really puzzled against Mannarino's quirky game. Then, losses to Michelsen and Fearnley, both in straight sets. What I didn't like in those two matches was Mannarino's serving; it was not good! Apart from that, those are both rather tricky matchups for him, and they were both also in really good form. Also, we prefer the Cincinnati conditions for his game, since they are faster and with a lower bounce...