Radek Stepanek takes on John Isner in a clash of the serve-volleyers in the opening round of the Cincinnati Masters.
Stepanek continues to mix it with the best even though he turns 33 later this year. The Czech won the fifth title of his career in Washington earlier this month, coming from nowhere to defeat the likes of Gael Monfils and Fernando Verdasco.
However his aggressive brand of tennis did not work quite so well in Montreal where he made a swift exit at the hands of Feliciano Lopez. He was not initially scheduled to play the back-to-back Masters events but had a change of heart, entering qualifying at the weekend.
Two comfortable straight sets wins later and he will be feeling sharp going into this clash. Expect plenty of quick points in this one, both men like to serve-volley and of course Isner has that cannon of a serve. There will almost certainly be at least one tiebreak.
Both players will like the dry heat of Cincinnati where conditions favour the aggressive players much more than in Montreal.
The head-to-head stands at 1-1 but Isner beat Stepanek at the Australian Open this year – 4-6, 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
Prediction: Isner in three.
