Novak Djokovic is back in the U.S for the first time in two years. He missed the whole of the North America hardcourt swing including the US Open owing to the American government’s Covid rule against unvaccinated foreigners. With the restrictions being eased earlier in May, Djokovic was confirmed to play in the US Open, where he won three of his 23 Grand Slam trophies, and in preparation for the final major of the year, the Serb will be in action at the Cincinnati Masters this week.
On Saturday evening, after Djokovic arrived in Ohio for the Masters 1000 event, he enjoyed an intense practice session in front of almost a packed stadium with fans having a glimpse of the record 38-time Masters winner.
The world No.2 practiced with team member Carlos Gomez-Herrera under the watchful eyes of coach Goran Ivanisevic as he looked to get acclimatised with the Ohio humidity. The two-time champion in Cincinnati worked on his serve and return, baseline game, before Ivanisevic stepped in for some specific drills. And eventually when he he completed the session, he made some time for the fans as well, signing autographs and taking selfies.
Djokovic handed nightmarish draw
This will be Djokovic’s 15th appearance at the Cincinnati Masters and first since his title-winning run in 2019. Overall, he has a 40-12 record in the tournament with two trophies (2019 and 2017), seven runs to the final.
The 36-year-old has been handed a difficult draw on his return to US as he will open his campaign against the winner of Canadian Open semi-finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina versus Tomas Martin Etcheverry, with Cameron Norrie and Jannik Sinner potentially beyond that.
Djokovic launches bid to overpower Alcaraz
This is the first time Alcaraz and Djokovic will be part of the same draw since their face off in the Wimbledon final in July. And with the Spaniard having suffered a shock defeat in the quarterfinal round in Canadian Open, which Djokovic had missed citing fatigue, the Serb will stand a chance to walk out of Cincinnati with the ATP ranking crown.
Having gained only 180 points after bettering his Canadian Open show from previous year where he suffered a second-round exit, Alcaraz only stands 600 points ahead of Djokovic (9,395 against 8,795). And the 20-year-old will be defending only 180 points in Ohio where he had reached the quarters last year.
If Alcaraz fails to make it past the last eight in Cincinnati, Djokovic, who has no points to defend, could reclaim the world No.1 spot only by making the final.
