Cincinnati 2023: Coco Gauff vs Mayar Sherif preview, head-to-head, prediction, odds, and pick | Western & Southern Open
Match details
Fixture: (7) Coco Gauff vs Mayar Sherif
Date: August 16, 2023
Tournament: Western & Southern Open 2023
Round: Second round (Round of 32)
Venue: Cincinnati, US
Category: WTA 1000
Surface: Hard
Prize money: $2,788,468
Live telecast: USA - Tennis Channel | Canada - TSN | UK - Amazon Prime Video
Coco Gauff vs Mayar Sherif preview
After a first-round bye, teen star Coco Gauff will lock horns with Mayar Sherif in the second round of the 2023 Western & Southern Open on Wednesday.
Gauff enjoyed considerable success during the early hardcourt swing at the start of the year. She bagged her third career title in Auckland and made it to the fourth round of the Australian Open. After a string of solid results in Doha, Dubai and Indian Wells, a third-round exit in Miami logged her earliest exit of the season.
Gauff concluded a below average clay season on a strong note with a quarterfinal finish at the French Open. Having performed quite well at Wimbledon in her career, the teenager then crashed out in the first round this time.
Gauff then claimed the biggest title of her career by winning the Citi Open over Maria Sakkari in the final. Her unbeaten run came to an end in the quarterfinals of the Canadian Open against Jessica Pegula.
Sherif, meanwhile, was up against Wang Xiyu in the first round here. The Egyptian saved a set point at 5-4 in the opening set and then gained the upper hand in the ensuing tie-break to claim it.
Sherif fought back from 3-1 down in the second set to get back on serve, but Wang bagged the last three games of the set to take it. The Chinese secured a lead for herself in the third set and stepped up to serve for it at 5-4.
Sherif managed to break Wang's serve to keep herself in contention and then came out on top in the tie-break to win the match 7-6 (3), 4-6, 7-6 (5).
Coco Gauff vs Mayar Sherif head-to-head
This will be the first meeting between them, so the head-to-head stands at 0-0 for now.
Coco Gauff vs Mayar Sherif odds
(Odds are sourced from BetMGM)
Coco Gauff vs Mayar Sherif prediction
Sherif did well to survive to a tough challenge from Wang in the previous round, but still has a lot of room for improvement. She won just 48% of her first serve points and went 4/17 on break points.
Sherif hits her shots with decent pace and fights to the last point. However, she's a player who mainly thrives on clay. Her record on hardcourts against players ranked in the top 100 is 4-26.
Despite a tough loss to Pegula at last week's Canadian Open, Gauff arrives in Cincinnati in good form. Sherif doesn't have the weapons to put her in a spot of bother, especially on hardcourts. The teenager should be able to make light work of Sherif to advance to the next round.
Pick: Coco Gauff to win in straight sets.