Andy Schooler delivered another profitable day at the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday. Now he’s back to preview the quarter-finals.
Tennis tips: Cincinnati Open
1pt Flavio Cobolli to beat Tommy Paul at 11/8 (bet365, Spreadex, Sporting Index)
1pt Brandon Nakashima to serve most aces v Taylor Fritz at 5/4 (bet365)
Tommy Paul v Flavio Cobolli (Thu)
Both of these players can feel fortunate to still be in Cincinnati.
Paul survived match point in the second set against Alex Zverev on Wednesday and also came back from 4-2 down in the decider as the German flopped pretty badly.
As for Cobolli, he was two points from defeat against Alexander Blockx in round three before the Belgian imploded and, like Zverev, lost four straight games.
The Italian starts the outsider here and I feel that could be a bit of value.
He responded well to his match with Blockx, producing an improved display to take down the red-hot Rafael Jodar in the last 16.
Cobolli was excellent off the ground in that one and a similar level would certainly test Paul in any lengthy exchanges.
Paul did serve well against Zverev but his game still produced a lot of errors. It may sound a bit strange given he’s just beaten the top seed but I think he’ll need to improve if he’s to win this one.
Interestingly, Cobolli won their only previous meeting, which came at this very venue two years ago, and I think he may well repeat the trick.
Taylor Fritz v Brandon Nakashima (Fri)
Following Zverev’s demise, Fritz is the new title favourite.
You can see why. Conditions suit his big-serving game and he’s yet to put a foot wrong, posting straight-sets victories over Alex Michelsen, David Merida and Christopher O’Connell.
He’s lost serve only once across those three matches but this should be a tougher assignment.
Nakashima is in great form having made his first Masters 1000 final in Montreal only last week.
Top seed OUT ❌
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) June 19, 2026
Brandon Nakashima shocks Minaur 7-5 6-3 to reach the Queen’s semi-finals.
Still yet to drop a set this week 👏#HSBCChampionships pic.twitter.com/tvRc1OIJl1
He’s another whose game is based around his serve and that facet is working well again in Cincy – he’s lost his delivery just twice in wins over Nuno Borges, Daniil Medvedev and Aleksandar Kovacevic.
Nakashima is 8/5 to land the upset but he trails the head-to-head 4-1, albeit his sole win did come on these courts in 2024.
For those expecting serve to dominate, it’s worth pointing out that only one of their 14 previous sets has gone to a tie-break.
However, there is one serve-related angle I like and that comes in the aces market.
Nakashima has won the ace count in two of their last three meetings and so far this week has served 48 to Fritz’s 25.
He out-aced Ben Shelton in Montreal last week and, with confidence flowing, can do the same against Fritz at 5/4.
Posted 07:45 BST on 20/08/2026
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