ATP Western & Southern Open: Potential Cincinnati Final Clash?
No. 15 Seed Borna Coric Is Defending Champion at Western & Southern Open
Three Seeded Americans Eager to End The U.S.-Born Title Drought in Cincinnati
Get ready for the last big tune-up event before the US Open so many of the big names will skip the Winston-Salem event the week before the final Grand Slam of 2023 after taking part in back-to-back 1000 events including the upcoming ATP Western & Southern Open.
While some big names have won the tournament held in Mason, Ohio, the unheralded Borna Coric is the defending champion.
Keep an eye on the status of 2008 champion Andy Murray as he pulled out of his match in Toronto with Jannik Sinner due to an abdominal strain that leaves his participation in the ATP Western & Southern Open up in the air.
The top two seeds made it through to the quarterfinals in Toronto. However, four unseeded players joined Carlos Alcaraz and Daniil Medvedev in the quarters. Will it be more of the same when the world’s best players converge on the Cincinnati suburb?
Veteran Gael Monfils did shake things up a bit by upsetting Stefanos Tsitsipas. Who will be the unseeded player to defy the ATP odds in this tournament?
The North American hard-court events are all about setting the stage for the US Open. Alcaraz (+120) and Djokovic (+150) are the clear front-runners according to the US Open outrights followed by Medvedev (+450) and Jannik Sinner (+1100).
The main draw in the tournament begins on Monday with each of the top 16 players in the ATP rankings entered. Former finalist Nick Krygios announced that he won’t be playing in the US Open so that removes one dangerous player from the Cincinnati field. Milos Raonic is also out of the Cincinnati event.
Here’s a look at some of the storylines heading into this 1000 event.
No Djoking Around
Novak Djokovic has won the ATP Western & Southern Open twice and after skipping the Toronto event, he will be a player to watch in Cincinnati.
Djokovic has reached the finals five times and he will be looking to set himself up for another run at a Grand Slam title after winning the Australian Open and French Open.
He is 33-5 this season and hasn’t played since the classic showdown with Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon.
Speaking of the Wimbledon champion, Alcaraz will be the top seed in the tournament. Alcaraz is getting comfortable on the hard courts as he is shaking off some of the rust during his time in Toronto.
Back for An Encore
Djokovic is not the only former champion who is seeded in this ATP tournament.
Medvedev, the 2019 champion, is seeded third while 2021 champ Alexander Zverev is the No. 16 seed. The No. 15 seed is Coric, the defending champion.
That could make for some entertaining first-round matches as only the top eight seeds get byes.
Alcaraz, Djokovic and Medvedev are joined by Tsitsipas, Casper Ruud, Holger Rune, Andrey Rublev and Sinner as players set to receive byes into the second round.
When looking at some recent ATP scores, Tsitsipas, Rune, Coric, Felix Auger-Aliassime (who will be seeded 12th), Tiafoe and Cameron Norrie all lost their opening matches in Toronto.
Americans Look To Make A Splash
There was a 15-year stretch when 10 U.S.-born players won the ATP Western & Southern Open event. That ended with Andy Roddick’s title run in 2006. That included four All-American finals. Since that time, James Blake, Mardy Fish and John Isner each reached the finals once.
Americans Taylor Fritz, Frances Tiafoe and Tommy Paul are seeded ninth, 10th and 14th as they look to give the home crowd an American in the men’s singles final for the first time since Isner fell to Rafael Nadal in the 2013 championship match.
Mackenzie McDonald upset No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev in Toronto and could be a dangerous floater in Cincinnati.
A Trip Down Memory Lane
Coric entered the 2022 event thanks to a protected ranking and proceeded to stun No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal in the second round and then took out No. 15 Roberto Bautista Agut, No. 7 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 9 Cameron Norrie and then fourth-seeded Tsitsipas to win the title. He didn’t drop a set in his final four matches.
There were three other top-10 seeds in the 2022 semifinals so it is not as if Coric took an easy path to the title.
Coric entered the 2022 event thanks to a protected ranking and proceeded to stun No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal in the second round and then took out No. 15 Roberto Bautista Agut, No. 7 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 9 Cameron Norrie and then fourth-seeded Tsitsipas to win the title. He didn’t drop a set in his final four matches.
There were three other top-10 seeds in the 2022 semifinals so it is not as if Coric took an easy path to the title.
Just two years ago, the top four seeds all reached the semifinals.
From 2003-15, the list of champions at this event includes Andy Roddick, Andre Agassi, seven-time champion Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal so this is an event that has plenty of star power. That made what happened in 2022 the exception and not the rule.
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