Defending Champ Sinner, ’23 Finalist Alcaraz Headline Cincy Men’s Draw

By Richard Osborn

Only weeks removed from their epic clash in the title match at Wimbledon, their second straight on the Grand Slam stage, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz bookend the men’s draw at the 2025 Cincinnati Open.

The expanded singles draw, up from 56 to 96 players, was unveiled on Tuesday afternoon at the revamped Lindner Family Tennis Center, which has undergone a sweeping $260 million transformation.

Sinner, the top seed and defending champion, returns to the court for the first time since he topped Alcaraz, 4-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, at the All England Club. Seeking his first ATP Masters 1000 title of the season, the Italian heads a quarter of the draw that also features countryman Lorenzo Musetti, Norway’s Casper Ruud, American Tommy Paul, Czech baseliner Tomas Mahac, Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime and Gabriel Diallo, and Chilean wildcard Nicolas Jarry.

Sinner, who will turn 24 on Aug. 16, has lost just three matches on the year. He captured his second straight Australian Open title in January.

Two-time Cincinnati Open quarterfinalist Taylor Fritz hopes to get back on track in Ohio after dropping his opener last year to fellow American Brandon Nakashima, 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(4). A grass-court trophy-winner this summer in Stuttgart and Eastbourne, the world No. 4 landed in a talent-rich quarter alongside the likes of 2024 runner-up Frances Tiafoe, Dane Holger Rune, superstar-in-the-making Joao Fonseca of Brazil, Italians Lorenzo Sonego and Flavio Cobolli, Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, American Alex Michelsen, Frenchmen Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard and Ugo Humbert, and 2022 Cincy champ Borna Coric.

In the bottom half of the draw, American Ben Shelton and 2021 Cincinnati Open titlist Alexander Zverev sandwich a quarter teeming with 2019 champ Daniil Medvedev, Czech Jiri Lehecka, Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, France’s Gael Monfils and Arthur Fils, Karen Khachanov, and Americans Nakashima and wildcard Jenson Brooksby.

Fresh off the Washington title, where he saved three championship points against Davidovich Fokina to claim his 10th career title, Aussie Alex de Minaur joins the No. 2 seed Alcaraz in the bottom quarter. Lurking elsewhere are 19-year-old Miami Open champion Jakub Mensik, 2021 Cincinnati finalist Andrey Rublev, Alexei Popyrin of Australia, resurgent Canadian Denis Shapovalov, Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, and Italy’s Luciano Darderi, who recently went back-to-back in Bastad and Umag.

Alcaraz, 22, owns an ATP Tour-best five titles in 2025, including Rotterdam, Monte-Carlo, Rome, Roland Garros and Queen’s Club. The Spaniard’s win in Paris came at the expense of his ‘Sincaraz’ counterpart, who let three championship points slip away in the fourth set before falling, 4-6, 6-7(4), 6-4, 7-6(3), 7-6(2).

Main-draw action begins on Thursday, Aug. 7.