The Western and Southern Open will mark the return of Novak Djokovic to North America for the first time since 2021.
Djokovic, who has won a record 23 Grand Slam titles so far in his career, has been unable to play in the region in recent months due to his decision not to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Authorities in America had in place an emergency health protocol that only allowed vaccinated foreign nationals into the country unless they met their criteria for a special exemption. This regulation expired earlier this year.
Cincinnati, which is where the Masters 1000 event is held, is a place of fond memories for Djokovic who won the title twice in 2018 and 2020. He was also a finalist on five other occasions with his current win-loss at the event standing at 40-12.
On Saturday the Serbian held his first practice session at the tournament. The ATP Tour website described the session as ‘intense’ with Djokovic being put through his paces by coach Goran Ivanisevic, as well as team member Carlos Gomez-Herrera. Gomez-Herrera is Djokovic’s hitting partner and a former player himself who has known the tennis star for more than a decade.
It remains to be seen how rusty Djokovic will be on the court after having not played a match since his marathon loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. He decided not to play in Canada this week due to fatigue.
However, there is extra motivation for Djokovic in Cincinnati where he is not defending any points. Should Alcaraz lose early in the tournament it will open the door for the Serbian to return to No.1 and be the top seed at the US Open which will begin later this month. Alcaraz, who reached the quarter-finals of the tournament 12 months ago, needs to reach the final to guarantee his stay at the top of the rankings.
So far this season, Djokovic has won 33 out of 38 matches played and claimed three Tour titles with those of those being Grand Slam events. At the Western and Southern Open, he has a bye in the first round and will take on either Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Tomas Martin Etchverry in his opening match.
