By Richard Pagliaro | Monday, August 15, 2016
Grigor Dimitrov plays Gilles Simon in his Cincinnati opener.
Photo credit: Western & Southern Open
Andy Murray rose to the top of the Olympic podium again and now tops the Masters mountain for the first time.
With world No. 1 Novak Djokovic sitting out this week's Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Murray tops the draw for the first time at a Masters Series event.
Del Potro: Murray's Mind Was Difference
Will the two-time Olympic gold medal champion be depleted by his Rio run or empowered by the fact he's won 33 of his last 35 matches and stands as the favorite with both nemesis Djokovic and seven-time Cincinnati champion Roger Federer out of action?
Here are five story lines to follow for the Cincinnati men's field this week.
1. No Novak
An emotionally ravaged Djokovic walked off the Rio Center Court in tears following his first-round defeat to Juan Martin del Potro. As expected, the world No. 1 withdrew from Cincinnati to rest, recover and emotionally recharge ahead of his US Open title defense.
Cincinnati is the only Masters title Djokovic has yet to win. You can look at the fact he's lost early in two of his last three tournaments, including a shocking Wimbledon third-round loss to 41st-ranked Sam Querrey, as signs Djokovic is vulnerable.
Djokovic still owns an immense nearly 6,400-point lead over Murray in the rankings, defeated three Top 15 players in a row without dropping a set to capture his record-extending 30th Masters title in Toronto last month and will carry a 33-2 record on hard courts into New York City.
Given how traumatized Djokovic looked by his Rio loss, skipping Cincinnati may well be precisely what he needs in preparing for the US Open.
2. Medal Health or Hangover?
Top-seeded Murray, third-seeded Rafael Nadal and fifth-seeded Kei Nishikori each won Olympic medals after draining Rio runs and all three face daunting demands of recovering for Cincinnati.
Murray made history edging del Potro in a four hour, two-minute battle of baseline attrition becoming the first player to successfully defend the Olympic singles gold medal. Can the two-time Cincinnati champion come down from the euphoria of his Rio high to extend his 18-match winning streak? Murray could meet Nishikori in a quarterfinal rematch of the Rio semifinals.
Nadal ended his 73-day sabbatical from the sport with a bang capturing the doubles gold medal with Marc Lopez and reaching the final four in singles.
The good news: The 14-time Grand Slam champion showed his fierce competitiveness and some aggressive baseline tennis throughout the tournament.
The bad news: Nadal admitted his cranky left wrist injury still bothers him when hitting his forehand and is uncertain how his body will respond after entering three disciplines—singles, doubles and mixed doubles—in Rio.
"The wrist is not perfect. It bothers me when I hit the forehand," Nadal said. "The serve, the backhand—nothing else bothers me.
"The truth is, when I hit the forehand, I feel it bothering me a little bit, but without a doubt it’s been a positive week in all aspects. I’ve played for many hours and the wrist at least didn’t get worse."
3. Fast Track Factor
Traditionally, the Cincinnati court plays faster than most Masters hard courts and figures to provide a speedier surface and a lower bounce than players encountered on the grittier Rio court.
Who will be challenged to adapt to the surface?
No. 2-seeded Stan Wawrinka prefers playing several feet behind the baseline to unleash his whipping strokes. Since falling to Federer in the 2012 semifinals, Wawrinka has been back to the quarterfinals in each of the last two years, however he's yet to win a title on North American soil. The two-time Grand Slam champion opens against American wild card Jared Donaldson, who knocked off Nicolas Almagro in the first round.
Who does the fast track help?
If Wimbledon finalist Milos Raonic plays with the same aggression he showed reaching successive title matches at Queen's Club and SW19, he could be a force. A 2014 Cincinnati semifinalist, Raonic lost to Feliciano Lopez in the first-round last year and will face either Fabio Fognini or Isner, whom the Canadian has never beaten, in his opener.
Nick Kyrgios ended Isner's reign in Atlanta earlier this month, swatting 18 aces without dropping serve to capture his second career title. Kyrgios, who opens Wimbledon quarterfinalist Lucas Pouille in their first career clash, can be a threat if he's serving with authority and avoiding the self-induced stress that can drag him down.
4. Youth Year
Five teenagers—Borna Coric, Jared Donaldson, Taylor Fritz, Reilly Opelka and Alexander Zverev—are in the field, the most since 2005.
Additionally, 22-year-old Dominic Thiem, the youngest member of the Top 10, should be eager to bounce back after opening-round exits in Toronto and Kitzbuhel following a second-round departure at Wimbledon. Thiem sports a 16-6 hard-court record this season, including winning the Acapulco title, however he's yet to win a match in Cincinnati.
5. Home Spoils
The US Open Series event often features an American finalist.
An American man has contested the Cincinnati final in seven of the last 13 years. Andy Roddick was the last American man to win Cincinnati, defeating Juan Carlos Ferrero, 6-4, 6-4, in the 2004 final. Roddick also saved a couple of championship points edging former high school roommate Mardy Fish, 4-6, 7-6, 7-6, in the 2003 final, which was the longest Cincinnati final since 1960. John Isner is the last American man to contest the final, losing to Rafael Nadal in two tie break sets in 2013.