Nadal, Djokovic lead Cincinnati Masters player field

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic have signed up for the Cincinnati Masters, dropping the biggest hint that they play the US Open

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Even though Rafael Nadal has not yet confirmed for the US Open, his name is included in the player entry list of the tune-up event Cincinnati Masters.

The Masters event, to be played from August 22-28, will be held at Flushing Meadows this time, a week ahead of the US Open to keep the players safe in a bio-secure bubble in New York.

If Nadal plays, he will be seeded second while world No 1 Novak Djokovic will be the top seed for the ATP 1000 event.

Marks restart

With the Citi Open in Washington DC cancelled, the Cincinnati Masters will be the first men’s event to be played since the tour was suspended in March due to Coronavirus.

Despite his initial concerns over the elaborate security measures for the US Open, the Serb was expected to play the hard-court Grand Slam. He has reportedly also asked the US Open to supply him with the type of balls they will be using during the fortnight for practice.

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The big question mark, however, was on Nadal’s participation. The defending champion hasn’t sounded too keen about travelling to the USA in the middle of the pandemic and has resumed training on clay courts, hinting that he’s getting ready for the dirt season.

Nadal had also confirmed participation for the Madrid Masters, which begins a day after the US Open final.

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But with 19 Grand Slam titles to his name, the 34-year-old is only one short of Roger Federer’s record tally and may well decide to play the remaining majors this year to overhaul it.

Pliskova top seed

On the women’s side, the top two players in the world – Ashleigh Barty and Simona Halep—have not entered the Cincinnati event.

Karolina Pliskova is slated to be the top seed, however all eyes may be on the 38-year-old Serena Williams as she resumes her bid to equal Margaret Court’s all-time record of 24 singles majors.

ATP Tour and WTA Player Entry Lists

Lists As of 10am on July 29

Rank Name Age Nat. Rank Name Age Nat.
1 Novak Djokovic 33 SRB 3 Karolina Pliskova 28 CZE
2 Rafael Nadal 34 ESP 4 Sofia Kenin 21 USA
3 Dominic Thiem 26 AUT 7 Kiki Bertens 28 NED
5 Daniil Medvedev 24 RUS 8 Belinda Bencic 23 SUI
6 Stefanos Tsitsipas 21 GRE 9 Serena Williams 38 USA
7 Alexander Zverev 23 GER 11 Aryna Sabalenka 22 BLR
8 Matteo Berrettini 24 ITA 12 Petra Kvitova 30 CZE
10 David Goffin 29 BEL 13 Madison Keys 25 USA
12 Roberto Bautista Agut 32 ESP 14 Johanna Konta 29 GBR
13 Diego Schwartzman 27 ARG 16 Garbiñe Muguruza 26 ESP
14 Andrey Rublev 22 RUS 17 Elena Rybakina 21 KAZ
15 Karen Khachanov 24 RUS 18 Marketa Vondrousova 21 CZE
16 Denis Shapovalov 21 CAN 19 Alison Riske 30 USA
18 Cristian Garin 24 CHI 20 Maria Sakkari 24 GRE
19 Grigor Dimitrov 29 BUL 22 Anett Kontaveit 24 EST
20 Felix Auger-Aliassime 19 CAN 23 Elise Mertens 24 BEL
21 John Isner 35 USA 24 Donna Vekic 24 CRO
22 Benoit Paire 31 FRA 25 Dayana Yastremska 25 UKR
23 Dusan Lajovic 30 SRB 26 Karolina Muchova 23 CZE
24 Taylor Fritz 22 USA 27 Ekaterina Alexandrova 25 RUS
25 Pablo Carreno Busta 29 ESP 28 Amanda Anisimova 18 USA
26 Alex de Minaur 21 AUS 31 Barbora Strycova 34 CZE
27 Nikoloz Basilashvili 28 GEO 32 Svetlana Kuznetsova 35 RUS
28 Daniel Evans 30 GBR 33 Yulia Putintseva 33 KAZ
29 Hubert Hurkacz 23 POL 35 Shuai Zhang 31 CHN
30 Milos Raonic 29 CAN 36 Magda Linette 28 POL
31 Kei Nishikori 30 JPN 39 Ons Jabeur 27 TUN
32 Filip Krajinovic 28 SRB 40 Veronika Kudermetova 23 RUS
33 Borna Coric 23 CRO 42 Kristina Mladenovic 27 FRA
34 Jan-Lennard Struff 30 GER 43 Anastasia Sevestova 30 LAT
35 Guido Pella 30 ARG 44 Rebecca Peterson 24 SWE
36 Casper Ruud 21 NOR 46 Caroline Garcia 26 FRA
37 Marin Cilic 31 CRO 47 Marie Bouzkova 22 CZE
38 Adrian Mannarino 32 FRA 48 Jennifer Brady 25 USA
39 Reilly Opelka 22 USA 49 Iga Swiatek 19 POL
40 Nick Kyrgios 25 AUS 50 Heather Watson 28 GBR
41 Albert Ramos-Vinolas 32 ESP 51 Danielle Collins 26 USA
42 Ugo Humbert 22 FRA 52 Coco Gauff 16 USA
43 John Millman 31 AUS 53 Fiona Ferro 23 FRA
123* Kevin Anderson 34 RSA

 

BOLD Indicates Past Western & Southern Open Champion                *Using injury protected ranking

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