It’s round of 16 day at Cincinnati, here’s a preview for two of today’s matches, Alexander Zverev vs. Tommy Paul and Rafael Jodar vs. Flavio Cobolli, with our predictions and best bets.
Alexander Zverev vs Tommy Paul
Zverev arrives as the top seed and has to settlle in being the favorite once again today. He hasn’t been at his most fluent in Cincinnati so far, needing three sets to get past Cameron Norrie and then surviving two tiebreak sets to see off Terence Atmane, but he’s through nonetheless.
Paul has had a stop-start season marred by injury, arriving in Cincinnati having gone just 3-4 in his previous seven matches, but he’s found a quite high level here, grinding out three-set wins over Hubert Hurkacz and Adolfo Daniel Vallejo.
This will be their fourth career meeting, and Paul actually leads the head-to-head 2-1, though he hasn’t beaten Zverev since 2022. Zverev won their last meeting at the 2025 Australian Open.
Predictions
Paul has the head-to-head edge on paper, but that’s history at this point, and Zverev’s results this week suggest he’ll find another gear once real pressure is on. He has been better in decisive moments and is just hard to beat, even when not at 100%.
Zverev to win in straight sets, might see one tie-break.
Rafael Jodar vs Flavio Cobolli
A very interesting match where the odds should be slightly more even I would think. Jodar enters as strong favorite at around 1.30 (-350) and is clearly hyped following a few great months on tour.
Fresh off a Montreal semifinal, the 12th seed and career-high No. 11 dropped just three games combined in a 6-2, 6-1 demolition of Alejandro Tabilo to reach the fourth round, a stat that put him in the company of Alcaraz and Shelton for efficiency this week.
Crazy level at times. #CincinnatiOpen https://t.co/rSr0Ch0rbc
— Tennisnerd (@Tennisnerdnet) August 19, 2026
Cobolli, the 7th seed, is still searching for his best tennis since his run to the Roland Garros final, where he lost to Zverev. He was made to work in round three again, needing a final-set decider to beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-1, 4-6, 6-3.
The two have never played each other before.
Predictions and best bets
Cobolli has shown at least some of the form that took him to the RG final earlier this season. We know how well he can perform, but on hard-courts, in the current form, I still back Jodar to get through this match and into the quarters.
Jodar to win in three sets, at odds 3.60 (+260)
