Daniil Medvedev, the 2019 Western & Southern Open, is optimistic for an uptick in form in Cincinnati after a disappointing quarter-final exit in Toronto to eventual finalist Alex de Minaur.

“It’s my last tournament before the US Open, important tournament, Masters 1000. In Toronto, unfortunately I didn’t do everything that I wanted to do with my game,” Medvedev said. “So I have a couple of days to try to get it working here and then of course, most important is going to be to try to win the matches. The draw is pretty packed, I would say very strong, which is normal. So looking forward [to it].”

Medvedev held leads against De Minaur in each set, but was unable to put away the Australian and paid for it with an exit in the last eight. But the good news for the No. 3 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is that he believes he knows what was off with his game in Canada.

“I felt like I was missing a little bit one shot where I could just hit the guy straight away and put him in trouble,” Medvedev said. “So I’m going try to do this. Two, three days I have in practice and hopefully I can integrate it also during the tournament.

“But the thing is that the practice is so different to [the] tournament. So as I said, you try to work on something in practice, but it really doesn’t matter [unless] you’re going to be able to do it in the match. But that’s what you’re trying to do.”

The 27-year-old will take confidence knowing he owns a 48-10 record this season and is in third place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, just 645 points behind second-placed Novak Djokovic.

Medvedev is trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the fifth consecutive year. He has already won five titles this season, including ATP Masters 1000 victories in Miami and Rome.

This historically has been a good stretch of the season for Medvedev. Four of his six Masters 1000 triumphs have come from Canada through the end of the year. Despite his quarter-final loss in Toronto, he is ready to turn the page beginning with an intriguing clash against Washington champion Daniel Evans or Lorenzo Musetti.

“In Toronto, not a bad tournament, but I was not at my best,” Medvedev said. “So I hope… to try to raise my level higher and higher and to play at my best before the US Open.”

Sinner defeated De Minaur 6-4, 6-1 in the final of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers on Sunday on the back of overpowering the Aussie from the back of the court. Both players had little interest in coming to the net to finish points. Sinner appeared at the net only four times (won 4/4), while De Minaur won 5/9 at the front of the court. He needed to camp there more often.

Both players elected to stay in their comfort zone from the back of the court, which provided the Italian with a huge strategic advantage. Sinner won an impressive 57 per cent (44/77) of points from the baseline, while De Minaur could only muster 39 per cent (28/72). This style of play was always going to favour the heavy-hitting Italian, as he could extract error after error from De Minaur in gruelling back-court exchanges.

Baseline Points Won
Set 1: Sinner = 52% (23/44); De Minaur = 44% (18/41)
Set 2: Sinner = 64% (21/33); De Minaur = 32% (10/31)
Total: Sinner = 57% (44/77); De Minaur = 39% (28/72)

The shot that broke down the most was De Minaur’s forehand, with 21 errors and a solitary winner. Sinner committed 18 forehand errors but collected four winners. Sinner’s primary pattern was to constantly attack De Minaur’s flat forehand, taking away his time to prepare his hands and feet correctly.

De Minaur’s backhand is typically a rock, but this side also bled more errors than usual. De Minaur committed 17 backhand errors, with no groundstroke winners. Sinner committed 14 backhand errors, with two winners. It didn’t matter whether the ball flowed through the Deuce or Ad court. Sinner was almost always the player leaning on the ball, while the Aussie was hard-pressed to apply the pressure necessary to force the errors he required.

Alex de Minaur was outgunned by Jannik Sinner in the Toronto final.” />

Average Groundstroke Speed
Forehands: Sinner = 127 km/h; De Minaur = 110 km/h
Backhands: Sinner = 120 km/h; De Minaur = 102 km/h

Sinner enjoyed an 18 kmph average speed difference with backhands and a 17 kmph average increase in forehand speed. With the ball constantly returning at a significantly faster speed than it left, De Minaur’s groundstroke game broke down as the match progressed.

Sinner was happy to blast his groundstrokes cross court all day long and generally avoid going down the line too much, staying away from lower percentage patterns of play.

Sinner Groundstroke Direction
Forehands = 65% cross court; Backhands = 67% cross court

De Minaur, on the other hand, clearly tried to play away from Sinner’s more potent forehand wing, avoiding Deuce court rallies where his forehand was directly pitted against Sinner’s.

De Minaur Groundstroke Direction
Forehands = 44% cross court; Backhands = 81% cross court

This was always going to be a tough match-up for De Minaur, as Sinner employs a similar back-court game style but with a lot more firepower. Running and defending for a living gets more challenging as you progress through the draw.

This is a well-deserved maiden Masters 1000 victory for Sinner. It’s also an excellent learning opportunity for De Minaur, as he must further develop his game to be more of an all-court threat or create more pressure from the back of the court, especially with depth, height and superior court position.

Sinner took home a Masters 1000 title. De Minaur took home the knowledge of the upgrades needed to capture one for himself in the near future.

Novak Djokovic long ago let go the disappointment he felt after losing the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz.

“It’s not the first [nor] the last match that I lost, so I was over it in a day,” Djokovic said ahead of the Western & Southern Open. “Obviously, I needed some really good rest after that, and some time with my family, and that’s what I did. So, of course, I was regretting not using the chances during that final.

“I was [a] set up and had some set points in the second and I felt that I was close to being in the lead. And then, obviously, some break points in the fifth. It was a close match, but well deserved from his side, because to win he played better in the important moments, and that’s what I said after the final. I think he was a deserved winner and that’s it really, pretty much. You move on.”

The 36-year-old was one win from claiming his third major title of the season. This year’s Australian Open and Roland Garros champion was well-positioned to make another push for the Grand Slam — winning all four majors in a year — but is happy to put that chase behind him and pursue new goals.

“I need to obviously move on and try to regroup and find motivation for what’s coming up, and all the challenges that are ahead of me, and that’s why I’m here,” Djokovic said. “Otherwise, if I’m not motivated, I wouldn’t be here. Now, after many years of professional tennis, I feel like I have a choice to play what I really want to play. And I really wanted to be here in Cincinnati, and of course, [the] US Open [is] around the corner.”

Cincinnati has been a special event for Djokovic. In 2018, the Serbian completed the Career Golden Masters by winning all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles at the tournament. He most recently competed in Cincinnati in 2019. So after a break, he is thrilled to return to action in Ohio.

“A lot of family time, resting and preparation for the tournaments here on American soil. It’s been two years since I was last in America. So, of course, I’m very excited and was very much looking forward to coming,” Djokovic said. “I haven’t been in Cincinnati since 2019, so nice to be back. Lots of young fans that I’ve seen the last couple of days on the practice courts, which is always great to see and people love their tennis.”

Djokovic practised at the venue for the first time this year Saturday evening on centre court. Many fans waited to take a close look at the 38-time ATP Masters 1000 champion’s game.

“It was amazing, to be honest. I made a joke with my coach, and I asked him whether we are [at] the right court because we thought it [was] a match. He actually said he thought it was a match happening because it [was] a match court,” Djokovic said. “It’s really amazing. I’m very grateful for the presence of so many people on a practice session, which is amazing. Again, I did experience some tournaments throughout the world, similar atmospheres in terms of the great attendance on the practice courts.

“But I guess, for a while, nothing of this intensity in terms of the presence and the participation of the crowd, on the practice court. The practice points that we played today, the atmosphere was great. People were really into it. As I mentioned before, lots of young fans, which is always something I wish to see. That gives me even more inspiration to play my best tennis in the tournament.”

Djokovic will begin his Cincinnati run against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Tomas Martin Etcheverry. Although this will be his first match since his heartbreaking Wimbledon defeat, he is ready to move forward.

“I like the feeling that I have after 20 plus years of professional tennis. There’s still fire going,” Djokovic said. “There’s still that drive and motivation to really come at the biggest events in sport and try to win, try to win titles and try to bring some good sensation to the crowds.”

One of the big storylines of the 2023 season has been the battle for No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings between Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic. When mentioned to the Spaniard at his press conference Sunday ahead of the Western & Southern Open, the World No. 1 cracked a smile.

“I like those battles. I like to know that I can lose, and I can recover it at the same time. Of course, you have to enjoy when the battle is against one of the legends from our sport, against Novak,” Alcaraz said. “I feel that I’m [the] main opponent for him. For me, it’s something crazy, and I’m trying to enjoy [it].”

World No. 1 is at stake again this week in Cincinnati, where both men are pursuing the trophy at the season’s seventh ATP Masters 1000 event. Alcaraz can guarantee he will retain top spot by advancing to the championship match in Ohio.

Although the 20-year-old is focussed on the task at hand, which is doing as well as possible in this tournament, he is also conscious of the World No. 1 battle.

“You have to put goals to yourself during the season, in every tournament,” Alcaraz said. “And for me right now the main goal is to stay in the top spot and if I lose it, try to recover it as fast as I can. It’s something that helped me a lot to show my best level in the big tournaments.”

In his first tournament since triumphing at Wimbledon, Alcaraz lost in the Toronto quarter-finals to Tommy Paul. The Spaniard is eager this week to try to put his performance in Canada behind him.

“It wasn’t a good week for me, but [I have] a lot of things to improve coming into this tournament. Looking back to last year, [I lost in the] first round [in Montreal] and then [the] quarter-finals [in Cincinnati], and then I won the US Open,” Alcaraz said. “I have to overcome that week that I had in Toronto, try to play better here and try to do better the things that I did bad in Toronto.”

Alcaraz is set to compete in Cincinnati for the third time. Two years ago, he needed to qualify for the Masters 1000 event. Last year, he advanced to the quarter-finals before losing a three-hour, four-minute clash to Cameron Norrie. Will this be the year he lifts the trophy?

The four-time ATP Masters 1000 champion is feeling comfortable in the city and at the venue, and the fans are embracing him, too.

“A lot of things changed since last year. I think the tournament grew up a lot, and this is my first day here,” Alcaraz said. “My first practice I had this morning, so I enjoyed this practice. All the fans were there enjoying the practice as well. So far I’m enjoying my time here in Cincinnati.”

After a week of tough battles in Toronto, Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer saved their best until last to lift the trophy Sunday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

The unseeded Salvadoran-Dutch pair delivered a high-class championship-match display to prevail 6-3, 6-1 against Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury and claim their maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown. Arevalo and Rojer combined rock-solid baseline play with plenty of delicate touches at the net to race to victory in just 60 minutes at Sobeys Stadium.

“This was great. We have played well for the past year and a half. We reached a lot of goals together. We won a Grand Slam title, but of course we want to do great also at the Masters,” said Arevalo. “So we were looking for that big title, and I’m super, super proud we were able to do it here in Toronto.”

Arevalo and Rojer had won three of their four matches en route to the final in a Match Tie-break, but after clinching the only break of the first set in the fourth game in Sunday’s final they barely looked back. The broke their opponents’ serve three times in the second set to claim their third ATP Tour title of the year.

“I’m not sure what made the difference [today],” said Rojer. “I know that Marcelo and I, coming into the match, were playing quite well. Once you get to the finals, and you play a great team like Joe and Raj, the margins are little. It says [6-3, 6-1], and you can say whatever you want, but we know that a point here or there [can make a difference].

“We were still fighting to win that last game, because you never know what can happen out here.”

It was a first Masters 1000 crown for El Salvador’s Arevalo and a fourth for Rojer, who also triumphed in Miami in 2013 (with Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi) and in 2016 and 2019 in Madrid (both with Horia Tecau). The pair has now won seven tour-level titles together, including a major triumph at Roland Garros in 2022.

Arevalo and Rojer have risen seven spots to No. 7 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Rankings as a result of their exploits in Toronto this week. They qualified for last year’s Nitto ATP Finals in their first season together.

A first-time ATP Masters 1000 champion will be crowned on Sunday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, where seventh seed Jannik Sinner faces Alex de Minaur. The Italian has a 4-0 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against the Australian. Both players are appearing in their fourth final of the year (1-2).

This is the third straight year and fourth time in the past five editions (except 2019) of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers there is an unseeded finalist: last year Pablo Carreno Busta defeated Hubert Hurkacz, in 2021 Reilly Opelka lost against Daniil Medvedev and in 2018 Stefanos Tsitsipas fell against Rafael Nadal. The event was not held in 2020.

Sinner is the first Italian man to reach the Toronto final in the Open Era (since 1968). He is trying to become the youngest Canadian ATP Masters 1000 winner since Alexander Zverev, 20, in 2017. Sinner is 17-4 in ATP Masters 1000 play this year and he’s appearing in his third career Masters 1000 final after a pair of runner-up efforts in Miami, in 2021 (l. to Hurkacz) and in April (l. to Medvedev). He is trying to become the second Italian Masters 1000 champion since the series began in 1990. Fabio Fognini won in Monte-Carlo in 2019.

Sinner is playing in his 11th ATP Tour final (7-3). He is 11-0 against Australians going back to the 2021 US Open.

De Minaur, who was runner-up last Saturday in Los Cabos (l. to Tsitsipas), is appearing in back-to-back ATP Tour finals for the first time in his career. He is the first Australian to advance to the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers final since Patrick Rafter (l. to Pavel) in 2001. Rafter is the last Australian Canadian ATP Masters 1000 champion in 1998 (d. Krajicek). Lleyton Hewitt is the last Australian to win a Masters 1000 title, triumphing in Indian Wells in 2003 (d. Kuerten).

The 24-year-old de Minaur has a 16-5 record since the grass-court swing in mid-June after compiling a 16-11 record from January through Roland Garros. He is appearing in his 14h ATP Tour final (7-6) and he is trying to defeat a third Top 10 player in Toronto. He is 6-4 vs. Top 10s this season (7-30 from 2017-2022).

A second straight week of ATP Masters 1000 action will begin on Monday at the Western & Southern Open, with the world’s best set to compete for the title on the American hard courts.

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic headline the field, back in the same draw for the first time since Wimbledon. ATPTour.com looks at 10 storylines to watch over the coming week.

1) Alcaraz Under Threat: Following his quarter-final defeat to Tommy Paul in Toronto, Alcaraz’s position atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings could come under fire this week. The Spaniard, who reached the Cincinnati quarter-finals last season, must reach the final this year to guarantee his stay at No. 1 and earn the top seed at the US Open ahead of Djokovic.

Alcaraz will open against John Isner or a qualifier, and could face a rematch against Paul in the third round.

2) Djokovic Returns: The Serbian will compete for the first time in a month as he bids to put his Wimbledon final defeat firmly behind him. Returning to the Western & Southern Open for the first time since he won it 2020 — when the event was played in New York — Djokovic is bidding for his third tournament title.

He will face Toronto semi-finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Tomas Martin Etcheverry in his opening match and is seeded to meet Cameron Norrie in the third round.

3) Can Medvedev Find Hard-Court Form?: A self-described “hard-court specialist”, Daniil Medvedev was almost untouchable on the surface earlier this season when he reached five straight finals and won four titles from February to early April. That run included a title at the ATP Masters 1000 in Miami and a runner-up finish in Indian Wells.

After a quarter-final defeat to Alex de Minaur in Toronto, can the 2019 Cincinnati champion rediscover that imperious form?

4) Tsitsipas, Coric Could Contest Final Rematch: Borna Coric beat Stefanos Tsitsipas in the Cincinnati final last season, and the pair could square off again in this week in the third round. But both men have work to do to reach that stage: Coric opens his title defence against Sebastian Korda and could meet Hubert Hurkacz in the second round, while fourth seed Tsitsipas will open against a home favourite in Ben Shelton or Christopher Eubanks.

5) A Ruud Revival?: Casper Ruud has struggled on the hard courts this season, one year after he broke through at the highest level on the surface by reaching finals at Miami, the US Open and the Nitto ATP Finals. With a 3-3 record across the first three ATP Masters 1000 on hard courts this season, Ruud will be eager to make another deep run before returning to New York, where he will be defending 1,200 Pepperstone ATP Rankings points.

The Norwegian will face Lloyd Harris or a qualifier in his opener and could meet 10th seed Frances Tiafoe in the third round.

6) Rune, Rublev Seek Second ATP Masters 1000 Crown: Sixth seed Holger Rune and seventh seed Andrey Rublev both won their first Masters 1000 crown in the past 12 months, Rune in Paris last season and Rublev in Monte-Carlo this year. Both have added one more tour-level title since then, with Rune winning Munich and Rublev triumphing in Bastad this season.

Denmark’s Rune will face Mackenzie McDonald or Yannick Hanfmann in the second round, with Rublev set to meet Emil Ruusuvuori or a qualifier.

7) Sinner Hopes To Stay Hot: After following his Wimbledon semi-final run by reaching his third ATP Masters 1000 final in Toronto, Jannik Sinner will be among the favourites in Cincinnati. Though he is seeded eighth, he enters the event at fourth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin. Two years after making his Nitto ATP Finals debut as an alternate in 2021, Sinner is in prime position to qualify directly this season.

8) Fritz, Tiafoe, Paul Lead Home Hopes: Ten Americans are in the 56-player singles draw, not including potential qualifiers. The host nation has plenty of candidates for a deep run, starting with ninth seed Taylor Fritz, 10th seed Frances Tiafoe and 14th seed Tommy Paul. While Fritz and Tiafoe both enter behind early exits in Toronto, Paul advanced to his first ATP Masters 1000 semi-final in Canada and will come into Cincinnati with a new career-high Pepperstone ATP Ranking.

9) Felix vs. Berrettini Among First-Round Blockbusters: Twelfth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime will bid to snap a four-match losing streak when he takes on Matteo Berrettini in the first round. Other early showdowns include 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 as the third seeds in Cincinnati, where a host of singles stars will be hoping to derail their title defence. Among the doubles teams in 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.

Stefanos Tsitsipas celebrated his 25th birthday Saturday with a full schedule at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

The 2022 finalist went through his slate of media day activities at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre before turning his attention to his preparations for the season’s seventh ATP Masters 1000 tournament.

Stefanos Tsitsipas” />
^{Photo: Andrew Eichenholz/ATP Tour}
Tsitsipas enjoyed an early evening training session with 2017 Cincinnati champion Grigor Dimitrov. Former World No. 8 Mark Philippoussis, who is now Tsitsipas’ lead coach, was on court with the No. 4 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. Also on the practice court was Tsitsipas’ girlfriend, WTA star Paula Badosa.

Tsitsipas will begin his tournament against an American: Christopher Eubanks or Ben Shelton. The 25-year-old last week won his first title of the season in Los Cabos.

Novak Djokovic is ready to roll at the Western & Southern Open.

The Serbian star enjoyed an intense first practice in Cincinnati Saturday evening on centre court, where plenty of fans packed the stadium to catch a glimpse of the 38-time ATP Masters 1000 champion.

Djokovic worked hard under the watchful eye of coach Goran Ivanisevic, training in the Ohio humidity with team member Carlos Gomez-Herrera. The second seed worked on his baseline game with Gomez-Herrera before Ivanisevic stepped in to feed balls for more specific drills with the Serbian.

Novak Djokovic works on his serve under the watchful eye of coach Goran Ivanisevic.” />

The two-time Western & Southern Open titlist (2018 in Cincinnati, 2020 at Flushing Meadows) also worked on his serve and return. After finishing his session, Djokovic made time for his fans by signing autographs .

The 36-year-old carries a 40-12 record at this tournament and will compete in Cincinnati for the first time since 2019, when he reached the semi-finals. This will be Djokovic’s first tournament in the United States since the 2021 US Open, in which he fell to Daniil Medvedev in the final.

Novak Djokovic is a two-time Cincinnati champion.” />

Djokovic’s last action of any kind came last month at Wimbledon, where he reached the championship match only to fall short to Carlos Alcaraz in a memorable final. The No. 2 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, who has an opportunity to reclaim top spot from Alcaraz in Cincinnati, is 33-5 in 2023 with titles at Adelaide, the Australian Open and Roland Garros.

Photo credits: ATP Tour