The combined ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati kicks off on Thursday, and Croatian tennis players have learned their first-round opponents. Marin Čilić, who entered the main draw with a wildcard, will face Spain's Daniel Merida Aguilar, while Dino Prižmić will take on Britain's Cameron Norrie.
Čilić Faces Umag Champion
Former Cincinnati champion Marin Čilić (ATP - 85.) will play in the first round against this year's Croatia Open winner in Umag, Spain's Daniel Merida Aguilar (ATP - 63.). Merida Aguilar arrives in excellent form after reaching his first career Masters 1000 quarterfinal at the Canadian Masters.
The winner of this match will face Belgium's Zizou Bergs in the second round, who, as the 30th seed, has a first-round bye.
Prižmić's Return After Umag
Dino Prižmić (ATP - 98.) entered the main draw directly after several players withdrew, bypassing the qualifiers. In the first round, he faces a tough match against Britain's Cameron Norrie (ATP - 37.), the highest-ranked player in the draw who is not a seed.
This will be Prižmić's first appearance since he had to retire from his second-round match at the Umag Croatia Open in mid-July due to exhaustion against Slovakia's Alex Molčan. If he gets past Norrie, he will face the tournament's top seed, Germany's Alexander Zverev, in the second round.
Vekić Gets First-Round Bye
In the women's draw, Donna Vekić is the 31st seed, which grants her a first-round bye. In the second round, she will face the winner of the match between China's Wang Xinyu (WTA - 41.) and a qualifier.
Marčinko and Ružić Face Challenging Draws
Petra Marčinko (WTA - 53.) will play Switzerland's Simone Waltert (WTA - 90.) in the first round. If she advances, she will face world No. 3, American Jessica Pegula, in the second round.
Antonia Ružić (WTA - 56.) will face Poland's Magdalena Frech (WTA - 45.) in the first round. If she wins, she will take on the 26th seed, Latvia's Jelena Ostapenko, in the second round.