Turin, Aug. 14 (LaPresse) – “I feel good. I’m eager to play at least one tournament before the U.S. Open.” Novak Djokovic told the ATP on the eve of his debut at the Cincinnati Open, the Masters 1000 hard-court tournament at the Family Lindner Tennis Center. The record-holder for the most Grand Slam and Masters 1000 titles, and the player with the most weeks as world No. 1, will face Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante in his first match since Wimbledon. “I haven’t felt this good after a Grand Slam in at least two years. I’d always had some kind of injury, of varying severity, that took me longer to recover from,” the Serbian noted. After his first victory, Djokovic triumphed again in 2020, celebrating his 80th ATP title in the final against Canadian Milos Raonic, and in 2023, at the end of the longest best-of-three-set final on the ATP Tour since 1990. On that occasion, he defeated Carlos Alcaraz 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4) after three hours and 49 minutes of play. “It’s undoubtedly one of the top three best-of-three-set finals I’ve ever played. It was incredible, emotional, thrilling—a real roller coaster. We started out in the sunshine and finished when it was almost evening. The final tiebreak was very hard-fought and nerve-wracking for both of us. We really gave it our all,” he said. That also remains his last match to date at the Cincinnati Open. “It’s a great feeling to be back. It will also be my first time there since the renovations; the facilities have improved tremendously—in an extraordinary way. They’ve done an incredible job.”
Djokovic Returns to Cincinnati: “I Feel Good, I’m Eager to Play”
Turin, Aug. 14 (LaPresse) – “I feel good. I’m eager to play at least one tournament before the U.S. Open.” Novak Djokovic told the ATP on the eve of his debut at the Cincinnati Open, the Masters 1000 hard-court tournament at the Family Lindner Tennis Center. The record-holder for the most Grand Slam and Masters 1000 titles, and the player with the most weeks as world No. 1, will face Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante in his first match since Wimbledon. “I haven’t felt this good after a Grand Slam in at least two years. I’d always had some kind of injury, of varying severity, that took me longer to recover from,” the Serbian noted. After his first victory, Djokovic triumphed again in 2020, celebrating his 80th ATP title in the final against Canadian Milos Raonic, and in 2023, at the end of the longest best-of-three-set final on the ATP Tour since 1990. On that occasion, he defeated Carlos Alcaraz 5-7, 7-6(7), 7-6(4) after three hours and 49 minutes of play. “It’s undoubtedly one of the top three best-of-three-set finals I’ve ever played. It was incredible, emotional, thrilling—a real roller coaster. We started out in the sunshine and finished when it was almost evening. The final tiebreak was very hard-fought and nerve-wracking for both of us. We really gave it our all,” he said. That also remains his last match to date at the Cincinnati Open. “It’s a great feeling to be back. It will also be my first time there since the renovations; the facilities have improved tremendously—in an extraordinary way. They’ve done an incredible job.”