Scouting Report: 10 Things To Watch In Cincinnati
One year ago, Grigor Dimitrov earned what was his biggest title, defeating Aussie Nick Kyrgios to lift his maiden ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy. But he faces a tough task if he wants to triumph at the Western & Southern Open again, with the top 13 players in the ATP Rankings in the draw.
Roger Federer and Andy Murray, who have combined to win the tournament in nine of the past 13 years, could face one another in the third round, while 2013 champion and World No. 1 Rafael Nadal will look to add a second victory at the event to his resumé. This is also the only Masters 1000 event that 69-time tour-level titlist Novak Djokovic has not won. He has reached the final here five times.
10 THINGS TO WATCH IN CINCINNATI
1) Reunited: It’s been more than a year since Nadal, Federer, Djokovic and Murray have competed together at a tournament. For the first time since Wimbledon last year, the complete ‘Big Four’ will take to the same court for the Western & Southern Open, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.
2) Nadal-Federer No. 1 Update: Nadal and Federer exchanged the No. 1 ATP Ranking six times in the first six months of 2018. It cannot change hands in Cincinnati and Nadal is ensured the No. 1 seed at the US Open. Nadal defeated Federer en route to his lone Cincinnati title in 2013. He added the US Open title three weeks later and is the only man to sweep Cincinnati and the US Open since Federer in 2007.
3) Swisscinnati: Federer is 41-4 since starting his career 1-4 in Cincinnati. The Swiss missed the tournament the past two years, yet his seven titles remain a tournament record. He also owns the most titles in tournament history at Halle (9), Wimbledon (8), Basel (8), Dubai (7), the Nitto ATP Finals (6), Doha (3) and Rotterdam (3). Federer is seeking the 99th tour-level championship of his career.
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4) Golden Masters: Nadal, Federer and Djokovic have all earned a career Grand Slam. This week, Djokovic can outdo Nadal and Federer by becoming the first player to own trophies from all nine Masters 1000 events. Djokovic is 0-5 in Cincinnati finals and is appearing at the event for the first time since 2015.
5) Murray 2.0: Murray missed 11 months with a hip injury before returning for two events in June. The Scot earned three wins in three sets to reach the Washington quarter-finals two weeks ago in his third tournament back. The 31-year-old Brit is a two-time Cincinnati champion.
6) Finally No. 3: Juan Martin del Potro achieved a career-high No. 4 in the ATP Rankings on 11 January 2010. Four wrist surgeries and nearly nine years later, the Argentine will climb to No. 3 for the first time on Monday.
7) Betterer than Federer: Zverev’s next ATP World Tour title will be the 10th of his career. The German has until 20 April 2019 to join Nadal, Djokovic and Murray among the players to win 10 championships before turning 22. Federer captured his 10th title at 2003 Vienna -- 65 days after his 22nd birthday.
8) The Champ is Here: Dimitrov did not drop a set, and only once dropped his serve, en route to the 2017 Cincinnati title. The Bulgarian held in 52 of 53 service games for the biggest title of his career at the time. Dimitrov went on to win the Nitto ATP Finals in November.
9) All He Does is Win: #NextGenATP player Stefanos Tsitsipas lost eight straight matches last year to begin his ATP World Tour career. He’s a new man in 2018, cracking the Top 20 on Monday thanks to his efforts at the Rogers Cup, where he is into his maiden Masters 1000 final. The Greek has beaten four straight Top 10 players, becoming the youngest player to do so since the ATP World Tour was established in 1990.
10) Different Socks: Wimbledon doubles champions Mike Bryan and Jack Sock will team up again in Cincinnati, after reaching the quarter-finals together in Toronto. Sock is 26-9 in doubles this season, winning four doubles titles with four different partners in 2018.