World No. 2 Andy Murray returns to Cincinnati next week bidding to capture a third Western & Southern Open title. The Scot – a champion in 2008 and 2011 (d. Djokovic both years) – faces a tough route if he is to recapture the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown in Ohio with No.5 seed Kei Nishikori a likely quarter-final opponent and fourth seed Milos Raonic slated to meet him in the semi-finals.

His projected final opponent, second seed Stan Wawrinka had his best result in Cincinnati in 2012 when he fell to countryman Roger Federer in the semi-finals. Wawrinka will likely have to find a way past No. 7 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarter-finals before a showdown with 2013 champion, No. 3 seed Rafael Nadal, in the semi-finals. Nadal has claimed 15 of 18 FedEx ATP Head2Head clashes with the World No. 4 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Vote for your favourite Cincinnati Golden Moment

Murray opens his campaign against either this week’s Abierto Mexicano Tenis Mifel finalist Ivo Karlovic or Argentine Juan Monaco in the second round. He has never lost to 37-year-old Karlovic in seven career meetings, however has fallen to Monaco twice in five matches. French No. 13 seed Richard Gasquet is drawn to meet him in the third round.

Wawrinka, meanwhile, will begin against either #NextGen American wild card Jared Donaldson or Spanish former World No. 9 Nicolas Almagro. He has never faced Donaldson and boasts a 6-3 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Almagro. His third-round opponent would likely be this week’s Abierto Mexicano Tenis Mifel finalist Feliciano Lopez, or former Top 10 players Gilles Simon or Grigor Dimitrov.

Third seed Nadal, who fell to Lopez in the third round in Cincinnati last year, faces either Pablo Cuevas or Sam Querrey in the second round with a trio of #NextGen players – 14^th seed Nick Kyrgios, Lucas Pouille and Borna Coric – potential third-round obstacles. Sixth seed Tomas Berdych is drawn to meet the Spaniard in what would be the pair’s 23^rd FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter. Nadal has won 19 of those matches.

A semi-finalist in 2014, fourth seed Raonic faces a tricky start to his Western & Southern Open campaign against either Italian Fabio Fognini or fellow big-server John Isner. Eighth seeded #NextGen star Dominic Thiem or French No. 9 seed Gael Monfils would be his expected quarter-final opponent.

Seven-time champion Roger Federer and five-time finalist Novak Djokovic will be missing from Cincinnati due to injuries.

Ivo Karlovic is through to his third ATP World Tour final from his past four events after Dusan Lajovic retired with wrist and elbow pain in the Abierto Mexicano de Tenis Mifel semi-finals on Friday. The No. 3 seed looked on his way to winning his fifth FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting from as many encounters with the Serbian after taking the opening set 6-2 before Lajovic called time at 1-1 in the second set.

It marked an unfortunate end for the World No. 72 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, after taking down No. 2 seed Bernard Tomic and No. 7 seed Nicolas Almagro en route to his third semi-final.  For 37-year-old Karlovic, it extends an impressive run of form of late, in which he has won 13 of his past 15 matches.

“I’m really happy that I’m in the final but then again I know him really well and know that he’s a really good guy so I would never wish this for him,” Karlovic said. “I began really aggressive and that’s my game. I was going to the net and he was missing all the passing shots.”

The Croatian will bid to win his eighth ATP World Tour final against either top seed Feliciano Lopez or Pablo Carreno Busta. “This is what I was hoping for when I arrived here,” he said. “I was doing really well in the last month or so. I made finals in Newport and Washington and also here now. I’m really happy about that.”

Rafael Nadal teamed with countryman Marc Lopez to win the gold medal in men’s doubles tennis at the Rio Olympics on Friday, beating Romania’s Florin Mergea and Horia Tecau 6-2, 3-6, 6-4 in the final. Lopez/Nadal were down a break in the deciding set, but swept the last three games to prevail. The win capped off a busy day for Nadal, as the 2008 singles gold medalist (d. Gonzalez) came back from a set down to secure his 800th match win in the singles quarter-finals over Thomaz Bellucci.

The Spaniards, seeded fifth, landed 81 per cent of first serves in the opening set and did not face a break point. Mergea/Tecau relied on power to level the match, firing 19 winners (46 total) to send the match to a deciding set. The Romanians appeared in command after breaking Lopez to love in the seventh game of the final set, but could not hold on and succumbed after two hours and 30 minutes.

Americans Steve Johnson and Jack Sock won the bronze medal after topping Canada’s Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil 6-2, 6-4. Johnson/Sock used their heavy forehands to good effect against the Canadians’ net-rushing game. They hit twice as many winners (26 to 13) and did not face break point in the 63-minute win. It was the second match of the day for Johnson, who pushed Andy Murray to three sets in the singles quarter-finals.

Second seed Andy Murray beat No. 12 seed Steve Johnson 6-0, 4-6, 7-6(2) to reach the semi-finals in Rio on Friday. The defending Olympic champion, who came back from a break down at 3-4 in the third set, fended off 31 winners from the American and won 78 per cent of points off his first serve to advance to the last four in two hours and 11 minutes. Murray next faces the winner of fourth seed Kei Nishikori and No. 6 seed Gael Monfils.

Watch Murray FedEx ATP Profile

Also in action today: Rafael Nadal vs Thomaz Bellucci, Juan Martin del Potro vs Roberto Bautista Agut, Steve Johnson/Jack Sock vs Daniel Nestor/Vasek Pospisil for doubles bronze and Marc Lopez/Rafael Nadal vs Florin Mergea/Horia Tecau for doubles gold.

Look back on eight Classic Moments from the Western & Southern Open, and help crown the Golden Moment from this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

Watch & Vote

Watch the clips and vote for your favourite of each match-up. Round 1, which runs from now until noon ET Tuesday, August 16, features four head-to-head battles:

Federer Saves Match Points (2003) vs Federer Triumphs In No. 1-2 Final (2012)
Agassi Overcomes Roddick (2004) vs Isner Fights Past del Potro (2013)
Nadal Clinches No. 1 (2008) vs Rafa-Roger Rivalry (2013)
Nadal’s Marathon Win (2011) vs Murray Back From The Brink (2015)

Ensure your favourites advance to the semi-finals. Watch & Vote Now!