Borna Coric vs Emilio Nava Cincinnati Prediction 8/8/2025 Today’s Tennis Picks

Borna Coric will face Emilio Nava in the first round of the 2025 Cincinnati Open. The match is scheduled for Friday, August 8. Here’s our Borna Coric vs Emilio Nava prediction. This preview will also include a Borna Coric vs Emilio Nava pick.

Borna Coric vs Emilio Nava Preview

Borna Coric enters the 2025 Cincinnati Open chasing his first win on the hard courts this summer. The Croatian star was surprisingly beaten by Italy’s Matteo Gigante in the opening round of the Toronto Masters a week ago. It was Coric’s first match since a qualifying defeat at Roland Garros. The 28-year-old missed the whole of the grass-court swing for the third time in five years because of injury.

Coric had an excellent first half of 2025 as he managed to restore his spot in the Top 100. He had fallen as low as 145th this season after going 0-4 in January. But he swept three successive Challenger titles in March. Coric then added a fourth Challenger crown in May, beating Stan Wawrinka in the prestigious Aix-en-Provence Challenger final. Since then, he’s lost his last two matches. Coric will make his eighth main draw appearance at the Cincinnati Open. He won his only Masters titles in this tournament three years ago. However, he has not advanced beyond the second round since.

Emilio Nava will make his debut in the Cincinnati main draw. He lost in qualifying when he last competed in 2022. The 23-year-old was not awarded a wild card this year and chose to compete in qualifying. Nava was successful in winning a pair of matches, beating Mikhail Kukushkin 7-5, 6-2 and Mariano Navone 7-5, 6-4 to progress to the main draw.

Nava has had some solid results this swing. He was a quarterfinalist in Los Cabos, where he lost out to Andrey Rublev in three sets. He has now qualified in the two legs of the ATP Masters 1000 in North America. In Canada, he made it to the third round stage and lost to eventual finalist Karen Khachanov. Overall, Nava has won 46 matches and lost 21 at all levels, although he sits outside the Top 100.

Borna Coric vs Emilio Nava Head-To-Head

Coric and Nava have not played before this.

Borna Coric vs Emilio Nava Prediction

It’s surprising to see Nava instilled as the favorite, but he’s clearly had a fantastic season on the Challenger Tour, winning three titles and making progress at Tour level with some impressive performances. His game is built around athleticism and high intensity, which explains why he’s been a sensation on clay. Coric is having another stop-start season after an injury derailed his momentum after the French Open. His return after two months in Canada was uninspiring, but the Croat knows how to peak. Coric won this tournament just three years ago and is one of the smartest baseliners on tour. Coric is also tactically astute and can hang tough with Nava if the American demands to test his shot tolerance. If Coric is close to peak physical levels, I like his chances of progressing.