A second straight week of ATP Masters 1000 motion will start on Monday on the Western & Southern Open, with the world’s finest set to compete for the title on the American laborious courts.
Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic headline the sector, again in the identical draw for the primary time since Wimbledon. ATPTour.com seems at 10 storylines to look at over the approaching week.
1) Alcaraz Beneath Risk: Following his quarter-final defeat to Tommy Paul in Toronto, Alcaraz’s place atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings may come beneath hearth this week. The Spaniard, who reached the Cincinnati quarter-finals final season, should attain the ultimate this yr to ensure his keep at No. 1 and earn the highest seed on the US Open forward of Djokovic.
Alcaraz will open in opposition to John Isner or a qualifier, and will face a rematch in opposition to Paul within the third spherical.
2) Djokovic Returns: The Serbian will compete for the primary time in a month as he bids to place his Wimbledon remaining defeat firmly behind him. Returning to the Western & Southern Open for the primary time since he received it 2020 — when the occasion was performed in New York — Djokovic is bidding for his third event title.
He’ll face Toronto semi-finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Tomas Martin Etcheverry in his opening match and is seeded to fulfill Cameron Norrie within the third spherical.
3) Can Medvedev Discover Arduous-Court docket Kind?: A self-described “hard-court specialist”, Daniil Medvedev was nearly untouchable on the floor earlier this season when he reached 5 straight finals and received 4 titles from February to early April. That run included a title on the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami and a runner-up end in Indian Wells.
After a quarter-final defeat to Alex de Minaur in Toronto, can the 2019 Cincinnati champion rediscover that imperious type?
4) Tsitsipas, Coric May Contest Closing Rematch: Borna Coric beat Stefanos Tsitsipas within the Cincinnati remaining final season, and the pair may sq. off once more on this week within the third spherical. However each males have work to do to succeed in that stage: Coric opens his title defence in opposition to Sebastian Korda and will meet Hubert Hurkacz within the second spherical, whereas fourth seed Tsitsipas will open in opposition to a house favorite in Ben Shelton or Christopher Eubanks.
5) A Ruud Revival?: Casper Ruud has struggled on the laborious courts this season, one yr after he broke by on the highest degree on the floor by reaching finals at Miami, the US Open and the Nitto ATP Finals. With a 3-3 file throughout the primary three ATP Masters 1000 on laborious courts this season, Ruud can be wanting to make one other deep run earlier than returning to New York, the place he can be defending 1,200 Pepperstone ATP Rankings factors.
The Norwegian will face Lloyd Harris or a qualifier in his opener and will meet tenth seed Frances Tiafoe within the third spherical.
6) Rune, Rublev Search Second ATP Masters 1000 Crown: Sixth seed Holger Rune and seventh seed Andrey Rublev each received their first Masters 1000 crown prior to now 12 months, Rune in Paris final season and Rublev in Monte-Carlo this yr. Each have added yet one more tour-level title since then, with Rune profitable Munich and Rublev triumphing in Bastad this season.
Denmark’s Rune will face Mackenzie McDonald or Yannick Hanfmann within the second spherical, with Rublev set to fulfill Emil Ruusuvuori or a qualifier.
7) Sinner Hopes To Keep Scorching: After following his Wimbledon semi-final run by reaching his third ATP Masters 1000 remaining in Toronto, Jannik Sinner can be among the many favourites in Cincinnati. Although he’s seeded eighth, he enters the occasion at fourth within the Pepperstone ATP Stay Race To Turin. Two years after making his Nitto ATP Finals debut as an alternate in 2021, Sinner is in prime place to qualify immediately this season.
8) Fritz, Tiafoe, Paul Lead Residence Hopes: Ten Individuals are within the 56-player singles draw, not together with potential qualifiers. The host nation has loads of candidates for a deep run, beginning with ninth seed Taylor Fritz, tenth seed Frances Tiafoe and 14th seed Tommy Paul. Whereas Fritz and Tiafoe each enter behind early exits in Toronto, Paul superior to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in Canada and can come into Cincinnati with a brand new career-high Pepperstone ATP Rating.
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9) Felix vs. Berrettini Amongst First-Spherical Blockbusters: Twelfth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will bid to snap a four-match shedding streak when he takes on Matteo Berrettini within the first spherical. Different early showdowns embrace Alexander Zverev vs. Grigor Dimitrov, Andy Murray vs. Karen Khachanov and Cameron Norrie vs. Gael Monfils.
10) Djokovic, Tsitsipas In Doubles Draw: Defending champions Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury return because the third seeds in Cincinnati, the place a bunch of singles stars can be hoping to derail their title defence. Among the many doubles groups within the draw are Serbians Djokovic and Nikola Cacic; Tsitsipas and Toronto singles semi-finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina; Italians Lorenzo Musetti and Lorenzo Sonego; first-round singles opponents Eubanks and Shelton; and Mackenzie McDonald and Tiafoe.
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