CINCY MEN’S DRAW: ’21 TITLIST ZVEREV, THREE-TIME CHAMP DJOKOVIC LOOK TO CAPITALIZE

By Richard Osborn

Opportunity abounds in Mason, Ohio.

For the second straight ATP Masters 1000 event, world-beaters Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz will be out of action, meaning the men’s draw looks most decidedly wide open at the 2026 Cincinnati Open.

With world Nos. 1-2 Sinner (knee) and Alcaraz (wrist), the winners of the last two men’s singles titles at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, on the sidelines, the competition will be looking to capitalize on the circumstances. Perhaps none more so than 2021 titlist Alexander Zverev, and three-time champion Novak Djokovic.

“I think it does change things a little bit, especially with Jannik not being here. He’s basically won every Masters that he’s played this year,” said Zverev, noting Sinner’s record 1000-level streak of 34 consecutive match victories and six titles. “But for me, it doesn’t change much. I still want to compete against the best. I still want to play against the best, and hopefully play better than I did in Canada. We’ll see how far I can go.”

An opening-round stumble against Tallon Griekspoor in Montreal aside, Zverev returns to Cincinnati a different player. Appearing in the fifth major singles final of his career earlier this summer at Roland Garros, he finally got over the hump, securing his first Grand Slam crown with a five-set victory over Italy’s Flavio Cobolli. The 29-year-old German, however, insists he’s (mostly) the same guy.

“I don’t know if I’ve changed, but there’s some confidence that comes with winning a Grand Slam,” he said. “I think there’s some satisfaction that comes with it. It’s great, but it’s a little bit in the past now. I’m here to hopefully play well and do well on the hard courts. I’m trying to get ready, get back in my best form before the US Open. That’s what I’m here for.”

Top Half

The top seeded Zverev and Djokovic, unbeaten in his last 10 matches at the Cincinnati Open dating back to 2020, find themselves in the same half of the draw, and could meet in the semifinals. But both have some serious work to do if that is to happen. The world No. 3 Zverev will first have to navigate a quarter of the draw that could come down to a Roland Garros final rematch with Cobolli. Also lurking in Zverev’s quadrant are the fast-rising Spaniard Rafael Jodar, American Tommy Paul, Valentin Vacherot of Monaco, Chile’s Alejandro Tabilo, Belgian Alexander Blockx, Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, and Canadian Denis Shapovalov.

Bookending the second quarter are the 39-year-old Serb Djokovic and fifth seed Alex de Minaur. Lurking elsewhere in their section are Czechs Jiri Lehecka and Jakub Mensik, Italians Matteo Arnaldi, Luciano Darderi and Matteo Berrettini, surprise Wimbledon semifinalist Arthur Fery, Frenchman Arthur Fils, and wildcards Jack Draper and Gael Monfils.

Bottom Half

Only days removed from winning his first title of the year in Washington (def. Jodar, 7-6(2), 6-4), American Taylor Fritz sits atop the crowded quarter No. 3, one that features 2019 Cincinnati Open champion Daniil Medvedev, 2021 runner-up Andrey Rublev, 19-year-old Brazilian sensation Joao Fonseca, Norway’s Casper Ruud, American Brandon Nakashima, Argentine Francisco Cerundolo, Belgian Zizou Bergs, and wildcard Marin Cilic of Croatia, who captured the Cincinnati Open title a decade ago in 2016.

Like Zverev, Fritz suffered a Round of 64 upset in Canada, his coming at the hands of the unheralded Argentine Thiago Agustin Tirante. After back-to-back finals in Stuttgart and Halle, a Wimbledon quarterfinal, and his run to the Washington title, it may be that he merely hit the wall.

“I’m in a much better place to be ready to play here,” said Fritz, 28 on Tuesday. “I think it was fine for me to want to try to play in Montreal, but after the first set of that match, I probably should have just shook hands. My body wasn’t right. It was tough to go from D.C. and then play a day later. I felt great playing throughout D.C., but then mentally I knew that my tournament was done.”

Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada heads a bottom quarter that boasts eighth seed Ben Shelton, Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, Americans Learner Tien and Frances Tiafoe, France’s Ugo Humbert and Arthur Rinderknech, Peru’s Ignacio Buse, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece, and Bulgarian wildcard and fan favorite Grigor Dimitrov, who won this tournament back in 2017.