Taylor Fritz, Flavio Cobolli, Arthur Fils? Gilles Simon names the Cincinnati Open men’s favourite
A former world No 6 thinks one ATP star is “slightly better” than the rest of the players who remain in the draw at the 2026 Cincinnati Open.
The top two players on the ATP Tour — Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz — withdrew before the Masters 1000 tournament due to injuries.
In the absence of the dominant duo, the top five seeds in Cincinnati were: Alexander Zverev, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Novak Djokovic, Daniil Medvedev and Alex de Minaur.
None of those five reached the quarter-finals, though, with Zverev, Auger-Aliassime and de Minaur falling in the last 16, Medvedev losing in the third round and Djokovic exiting in the second round.
Sixth seed Taylor Fritz is the highest-ranked player to advance to the quarter-finals, while Flavio Cobolli and Lorenzo Musetti are the other top 10 seeds in the last eight.
2026 Cincinnati Open ATP quarter-final lineup
- Tommy Paul (18) vs Flavio Cobolli (7)
- Thiago Agustin Tirante vs Arthur Fils (21)
- Taylor Fritz (6) vs Brandon Nakashima (27)
Lorenzo Musetti (10) vs Frances Tiafoe (17)
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Fritz is the only Masters 1000 champion among the eight Cincinnati quarter-finalists, having won his only title at this level in Indian Wells in 2022.
Nakashima, Musetti and Tiafoe — who are in the bottom half of the draw with Fritz — have all been finalists at Masters 1000 events.
None of the four players in the top half — Tommy Paul, Cobolli, Thiago Agustin Tirante and Arthur Fils — have reached a final at this category of tournament.
Gilles Simon, a French former ATP Tour player who was a two-time Masters 1000 finalist, believes his compatriot Fils is the man to beat in Cincinnati.
“Even if it’s close for me, @ArthurFils is slightly better than all the players who remain in the draw,” Simon wrote on Twitter/X.
“When you see his consistency in Masters 1000 events, even though he often arrives without much rhythm, it’s very impressive.
“I really hope he’s going to pull it off, come on mate.”
Fils expressed his appreciation for Simon’s words by replying with two emojis of hands folded in prayer.
The 22-year-old has reached the quarter-finals or better at five of the six Masters 1000 events he has played in 2026, while he was forced to retire in his opening match in Rome.
The Frenchman, who is currently ranked 21st, was a semi-finalist in Miami and Madrid this year.
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