Cincinnati 2020: Reilly Opelka vs Cameron Norrie preview, head-to-head & prediction | Western & Southern Open

World No. 39 Reilly Opelka will take on Britain's Cameron Norrie in the first round of the 2020 Cincinnati Masters on Saturday. It promises to be an exciting contest between two young players, with one being a giant server and the other a lefty slugger.

Reilly Opelka will go into this tournament with a ton of confidence, having won his second ATP title at the Delroy Beach Open earlier this year. He defeated Yoshihito Nishioka in the final, coming through with a scoreline of 7–5, 6–7(4–7), 6–2.

The American had also made it to the second round of the Cincinnati Masters last year, where he lost to Alex de Minaur in straight sets.

When was last time both #1 seeds lost to #8 seeds in their opening playoff games?

— Reilly Opelka (@ReillyOpelka) August 19, 2020

Cameron Norrie, meanwhile, has some momentum on his side. The Brit has come through the qualifiers and he pulled off a gritty win in the final round, coming back from one set down to claim a 5-7, 6-2, 6-4 win over Kamil Majchrzak.

Reilly Opelka vs Cameron Norrie head-to-head

Cameron Norrie and Reilly Opelka have not faced each other on the ATP tour so far. However, they did face off in the Round of 32 of the USA F21 Futures Tournament back in 2016.

Norrie clinched a straight-set victory in that game, defeating Opelka 6-2 6-4.

Reilly Opelka vs Cameron Norrie prediction

Cameron Norrie looked in fine touch during the qualifiers

Reilly Opelka has had decent returns so far in 2020, with a win-loss ratio of 7-3 before the COVID-19 pandemic forced the tour to be suspended. Cameron Norrie, on the other hand, has won four and lost seven of his 11 games this year.

But while Opelka has had a better season on the whole, Norrie will draw plenty of confidence from his performance in the qualifiers.

Welcome to the @atptour main draw!🇸🇮 Bedene🇱🇹 Berankis🇮🇹 Caruso🇭🇺 Fucsovics🇺🇸 Giron🇸🇰 Gombos🇿🇦 Harris🇺🇸 Korda🇺🇸 McDonald🇬🇧 Norrie🇫🇮 Ruusuvuori🇺🇸 Wolf#CInCyTennis pic.twitter.com/GvHnTzBbBL

— Western & Southern Open (@CincyTennis) August 21, 2020

That said, the American's big and powerful serve would likely be a handful for Norrie in this contest. The Brit will look to use his strong returns and solid baseline play to keep Opelka on the backfoot, but if the American's serve is firing, there is very little anyone can do.

Prediction: Reilly Opelka to win in three sets.

Match details

Tournament: Western & Southern Open 2020

Venue: Flushing Meadows, New York, USA

Category: ATP Masters 1000

Surface: Outdoor hardcourt

Prize money: $4,674,780

Live telecast: India - Sony Ten 2 | USA - Tennis Channel / ESPN

Match timing: 1 pm EDT (10:30 pm IST).