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Wawrinka leading delayed match with Nakashima
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High potential Fils underdog for Humbert clash
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Norrie the pick against Monfils
Wawrinka on verge of underdog winner
While our pick Stan Wawrinka was one of those players influenced by the delays last night in Cincinnati, the Swiss man is on the verge of picking up a nice underdog winner for the column, with his match against Brandon Nakashima interrupted with Wawrinka leading 5-2 in the deciding set.
We did, however, see a return to form for Felix Auger-Aliassime, who got the better of Matteo Berrettini in a comeback victory, and he has a great opportunity to put that bad run to bed with a very winnable second round match tomorrow against Adrian Mannarino.
Yesterday's preview contained some of the delayed matches on the schedule today (Zverev v Dimitrov, Evans v Musetti) but there are others definitely worth discussing.
Humbert v Fils - Improving Fils worth watching
First of all, the all-French clash between Ugo Humbert and Arthur Fils is fascinating. The more experienced Humbert is the 1.748/11 favourite to get the win, but qualifier Fils has made rapid progress at the age of 19 (and only recently turned 19) to already be ranked inside the top 50.
Two straight-set wins in qualifying will see Fils in confident mood for this clash, and he comes off the back of a decent showing at 500 level in Hamburg several weeks ago, reaching the semi-final and defeating top seed Casper Ruud, including bagelling the Norwegian.
In recent events, Humbert has done what Humbert has often done. Perhaps pick up the odd win or two before losing against better opposition, and I do think Fils' ceiling is significantly higher than his countryman.
A little concerning right now is Fils' preference for clay, and this puts me off a position here, but I'm not sure you're going to get close on Fils at underdog prices for a match-up with Humbert for a while in the future.
Murray v Khachanov - One to watch
Moving on, it's also interesting to see Andy Murray favourite for his clash with Karen Khachanov, who hasn't played since reaching the quarter-final of the French Open at the start of June.
Both players have doubts surrounding their condition, with Murray withdrawing last week in Toronto after winning two matches, and in normal circumstances I'd have Khachanov as a pretty solid favourite against the veteran Scotsman.
Perhaps this is a match worth assessing the start for each player and then looking towards the in-play markets.
Fritz v Lehecka - Fritz likely to get past Lehecka
In other matches, Taylor Fritz is a heavy favourite at 1.351/3 for his clash with Jiri Lehecka, who is improving nicely but clay conditions would be much more of a leveller. Fritz got the better of Lehecka on slow clay at Monte Carlo in April, so a reverse in conditions today which favour the American would be surprising.
Norrie v Monfils - Norrie's return gives him edge
Finally, another Brit is in action as Cameron Norrie takes on Gael Monfils, and is 1.845/6 to get the better of the veteran Frenchman.
Not so long ago, this price would have been considered absurd, given Monfils' lack of match activity and success this season, but the market is cautious given his run to the quarter-final in Toronto last week.
Monfils did beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in that event, but in a 6-4 6-3 win he was victorious in just five more points, suggesting that the games he held were close, and the ones which Tsitsipas held were more straightforward.
Norrie is on a run of three losses in a row but was just 2.1411/10 last week in a loss to eventual finalist Alex De Minaur, and unless he's pack to his peak, Monfils is a fair downgrade on De Minaur currently.
From a data perspective, Norrie has a nice edge on return points won, and this should be the deciding factor here. I like his chances of ending Monfils' resurgence in form.