Following first-round byes, Carlos Alcaraz and Casper Ruud will get underway at the Cincinnati Masters on Thursday. Alcaraz is facing Gael Monfils, while Ruud runs into familiar foe and Olympics conqueror Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Gael Monfils vs. (2) Carlos Alcaraz

Alcaraz will be playing for the first time since losing the gold-medal match at the Paris Olympics to Novak Djokovic when the Spaniard takes the court at the Western & Southern Open on Thursday. Each of the last three significant finals on tour have included Alcaraz, who triumphed at both the French Open and Wimbledon before finishing runner-up at the Olympics. The world No. 3 now heads to Cincinnati, where he came up short in an epic title match against Djokovic last summer.

Up first for Alcaraz on Thursday is a third meeting with Monfils, who trails the head-to-head series 2-0. The Frenchman fell 7-5, 6-1 at the 2022 Indian Wells Masters and 6-2, 6-4 in Miami earlier this season. Nothing suggests that Monfils will be any more competitive in this one, although he at least did well to defeat Montreal champion Alexei Popyrin 7-5, 6-3 on Wednesday. Whereas Popyrin was obviously fatigued, Alcaraz is well rested and ready to go one step farther than he did last year at this tournament.

Pick: Alcaraz in 2

(7) Casper Ruud vs. Felix Auger-Aliassime

It will be a rematch of the Paris Olympics quarterfinals when Ruud and Auger-Aliassime meet again in the Cincinnati second round on Thursday. Auger-Aliassime pulled off a 6-4, 6-7(8), 6-3 upset to tie the head-to-head series 3-3 on the main tour (it’s 4-4 including a couple of Challenger results). The 19th-ranked Canadian ended up losing to Alcaraz in the semis and to Musetti in the bronze-medal match, but he at least won bronze in mixed doubles with Gabriela Dabrowski. Understandably drained following his Parisian exploits, Auger-Aliassime lost right away in Montreal (6-3, 6-2 to a red-hot Flavio Cobolli). Having finally gotten some rest, the 24-year-old hammered Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday.

Ruud withdrew from Montreal prior to the third round, but that was due to illness rather than injury. The eighth-ranked Norwegian should be good to go for Cincinnati, where he looks to continue his impressive 2024 hard-court success. He finished runner-up in both Acapulco and Los Cabos to go along with a 3-0 record at the United Cup and a quarterfinal showing in Indian Wells. A slight edge goes to Ruud to avenge his recent loss in what will likely be a high-quality affair.

Pick: Ruud in 3