The second part of the season on cement returns. After the clay court tournaments and the brief parenthesis of the grass, it returns to the surface that occupies most of the tennis year. It begins in Washington, before moving on to the two Masters 1000s: first Montreal for the Rogers Cup, and then Cincinnati for what will be the third 1000 tournament of the season to be played on American cement after Indian Wells and Miami.
After the publication of the Montreal entry list, Cincinnati’s arrives. There are no changes compared to the Canadian tournament: the same players and the same contradictions. World number one Daniil Medvedev, returning from his forced stoppage at Wimbledon, heads the list.
The first contradiction is in the second place: Alexander Zverev, the defending champion, is still registered in the Masters 1000 tournament. Rafael Nadal also returns to the United States in a big way: the Spaniard has not attended this tournament since 2017, where he reached the quarterfinals final, losing to Nick Kyrgios.
The seventh seed should be Novak Djokovic, but the Serb’s problem is already known: as he is not vaccinated, he cannot enter the United States of America; a speech that applies to both the Cincinnati 1000 tournament and the US Open.
Also present is Andrey Rublev, a finalist last year in Cincinnati and beaten by the world number two. The first Italian in the draw is Jannik Sinner, seeded tenth in the draw; Matteo Berrettini follows him who, due to Wimbledon points, is “only” the fifteenth seed.
The presence of the other Italians is expected, that is, Fabio Fognini, Lorenzo Sonego and Lorenzo Musetti. Among the hosts, the one leading the United States car is Taylor Fritz, who has already won a 1000th tournament in his country, Indian Wells.
Takur reflects on Nole Djokovic
Ramesh Takur has split a long forum on the Novak Djokovic’s case, and the arguments really deserve to be studied closely. According to him, the Serb must participate in the US Open. He also returns to the Australian episode by giving a different reading of the events than that proposed at the time of the facts by the media and the institutions of the country of Nick Kyrgios.
Watch out, it’s moving. “Djokovic had to be kept away from Australia not because he could infect other people, but because he is a visible reminder of vaccine failure. The government was terrified that a twice-infected, but unvaccinated Djokovic could showcase his athletic prowess on the pitch for a record-breaking 21st Major triumph and end the steady escalation of the COVID terror.”
Novak Djokovic broke into the top 80 in 2005, gaining more than 100 positions on the ATP Rankings list and notching 11 ATP wins. Leaving the Challengers behind, Novak lived through the full ATP Tour season in 2006 and collected 40 wins to move to the brink of the top-15.
Still, the young Serb didn’t play as well in the first five months, scoring just seven ATP tournament wins and four more in the Davis Cup, to enter Roland Garros from outside the top-60. Djokovic raised his level at the second Major of the season, in Paris, and bested Luis Horna, Fernando Gonzalez, Tommy Haas and Gael Monfils to find himself in the first Major quarter-final.
Novak retired against world No. 2 Rafael Nadal after a strong effort in the first two sets, and started on the grass court with Marian Vajda as coach. Djokovic reached the third round at Wimbledon in 2005, and took another step a year later after beating Paul Goldstein, Tommy Robredo and Mikhail Youzhny.
Novak lost the first set against the Russian before picking up excellent pace, not losing serve again and surrendering five breaks to control the pace and find himself in the second week. After the match, Novak praised Wimbledon as the most prestigious Major and one of his favorite tournaments.
