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Goffin-Tsitsipas & Shapovalov-Tiafoe highlight popcorn openers
Roger Federer and Andy Murray, who have combined to win nine of the past 13 Western & Southern Opens, could meet in a blockbuster third-round clash in Cincinnati. And while fans will salivate over that possible meeting between two former World No. 1s, there is plenty to watch out for with top seed Rafael Nadal, defending champion Grigor Dimitrov and 69-time tour-level titlist Novak Djokovic all getting placed in a stacked top quarter.

If Federer moves past Peter Gojowczyk or Joao Sousa and Murray defeats 16th seed Lucas Pouille and then Leonardo Mayer or a qualifier, the superstars will face one another for the 26th time in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. It would be their first meeting since the same tournament three years ago.

Murray is competing in just his fourth tournament in nearly 14 months, continuing his comeback from hip surgery in January. And if he plays Federer, he will try to overcome a five-match losing streak against the Swiss. Federer, who leads their rivalry 14-11, has triumphed in three of their four battles in Cincinnati, with their past three meetings at the event (2009, 2014, 2015) coming in the quarter-finals or later.

The rest of their quarter is full of standouts as well, as whoever emerges from their section will likely face eighth seed Dominic Thiem, 12th seed Diego Schwartzman, former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka or Japanese star Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals.

All eyes will be on the top quarter, though, with four current or former Top 3 players in the ATP Rankings looking to make their mark at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event. Nadal could possibly meet Canadian Milos Raonic in his opener, so long as the eight-time titlist advances past a qualifier.

The Spaniard, who triumphed in Cincinnati five years ago, could eventually face Dimitrov or Djokovic in the quarter-finals. Dimitrov lifted his first Masters 1000 title in Ohio one year ago, while Djokovic is trying to complete the career ‘Golden Masters’, as Cincinnati is the only tournament at the elite level he has not yet won. The duo could meet in the third round, with a second-round clash against Marco Cecchinato, who beat Djokovic in the Roland Garros quarter-finals, looming for the Serbian.

Third seed Alexander Zverev, a three-time Masters 1000 winner, is projected to meet 2016 champion Marin Cilic in the quarter-finals. Fourth seed Juan Martin del Potro, who is pursuing his second title at this level, will potentially meet sixth seed Kevin Anderson in the last eight.

But don’t wait for all of those possible matches to come to fruition, as you can grab popcorn for plenty of meetings in the first round.

#NextGenATP Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who on Friday at the Rogers Cup became the youngest player to beat three Top 10 players at a single tournament since Rafael Nadal at the 2006 Monte-Carlo Masters, will face 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up David Goffin in his opener. The 19-year-old has won two of three FedEx ATP Head2Head meetings against the Belgian, including a victory last October in Antwerp to reach his maiden ATP World Tour semi-final.

An all-#NextGenATP opener also promises to be a thriller, with Canadian Denis Shapovalov and American Frances Tiafoe clashing for the second time. Tiafoe beat the left-hander in the Delray Beach Open semi-finals earlier this season en route to his maiden tour-level title.

Other First-Round Matches To Watch:
- No. 9 John Isner vs. Sam Querrey

- Jack Sock vs. Hyeon Chung

- Kei Nishikori vs. Andrey Rublev

- No. 12 Diego Schwartzman vs. Stan Wawrinka

An executive summary of what every fan should know about the coming week on the ATP World Tour
One year ago, Grigor Dimitrov earned what was his biggest title, defeating Aussie Nick Kyrgios to lift his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy. But he faces a tough task if he wants to triumph at the Western & Southern Open again, with the top 13 players in the ATP Rankings in the draw.

Roger Federer and Andy Murray, who have combined to win the tournament in nine of the past 13 years, could face one another in the third round, while 2013 champion and World No. 1 Rafael Nadal will look to add a second victory at the event to his resumé. This is also the only Masters 1000 event that 69-time tour-level titlist Novak Djokovic has not won. He has reached the final here five times.

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10 THINGS TO WATCH IN CINCINNATI
1) Reunited: It’s been more than a year since Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray have competed together at a tournament. For the first time since Wimbledon last year, the complete ‘Big Four’ will take to the same court for the Western & Southern Open, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.

2) Nadal-Federer No. 1 Update: Nadal and Federer exchanged the No. 1 ATP Ranking six times in the first six months of 2018. It cannot change hands in Cincinnati and Nadal is ensured the No. 1 seed at the US Open. Nadal defeated Federer en route to his lone Cincinnati title in 2013. He added the US Open title three weeks later and is the only man to sweep Cincinnati and the US Open since Federer in 2007.

3) Swisscinnati: Federer is 41-4 since starting his career 1-4 in Cincinnati. The Swiss missed the tournament the past two years, yet his seven titles remain a tournament record. He also owns the most titles in tournament history at Halle (9), Wimbledon (8), Basel (8), Dubai (7), the Nitto ATP Finals (6), Doha (3) and Rotterdam (3). Federer is seeking the 99th tour-level championship of his career.

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4) Golden Masters: Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have all earned a career Grand Slam. This week, Djokovic can outdo Nadal and Federer by becoming the first player to own trophies from all nine Masters 1000 events. Djokovic is 0-5 in Cincinnati finals and is appearing at the event for the first time since 2015.

5) Murray 2.0: Murray missed 11 months with a hip injury before returning for two events in June. The Scot earned three wins in three sets to reach the Washington quarter-finals two weeks ago in his third tournament back. The 31-year-old Brit is a two-time Cincinnati champion.

6) Finally No. 3: Juan Martin del Potro achieved a career-high No. 4 in the ATP Rankings on 11 January 2010. Four wrist surgeries and nearly nine years later, the Argentine will climb to No. 3 for the first time on Monday.

7) Betterer than Federer: Zverev’s next ATP World Tour title will be the 10th of his career. The German has until 20 April 2019 to join Nadal, Djokovic and Murray among the players to win 10 championships before turning 22. Federer captured his 10th title at 2003 Vienna -- 65 days after his 22nd birthday.


The Champ is Here: Dimitrov did not drop a set, and only once dropped his serve, en route to the 2017 Cincinnati title. The Bulgarian held in 52 of 53 service games for the biggest title of his career at the time. Dimitrov went on to win the Nitto ATP Finals in November.

9) All He Does is Win: #NextGenATP player Stefanos Tsitsipas lost eight straight matches last year to begin his ATP World Tour career. He’s a new man in 2018, cracking the Top 20 on Monday thanks to his efforts at the Rogers Cup, where he is into his maiden Masters 1000 final. The Greek has beaten four straight Top 10 players, becoming the youngest player to do so since the ATP World Tour was established in 1990.

10) Different Socks: Wimbledon doubles champions Mike Bryan and Jack Sock will team up again in Cincinnati, after reaching the quarter-finals together in Toronto. Sock is 26-9 in doubles this season, winning four doubles titles with four different partners in 2018.

What you need to know about the #ATPMasters1000 in Cincinnati