‘Motivated’ Novak Djokovic makes a tweak to his Cincinnati schedule
Novak Djokovic will be on double duty at the Cincinnati Open with the tournament his only warm-up event before the US Open.
The 23-time Grand Slam winner had already been confirmed for the singles of the ATP Masters 1000 event and he has now also signed up for doubles alongside compatriot Nikola Cacic.
World No 2 Djokovic has not competed since losing the Wimbledon final against Carlos Alcaraz just over a fortnight ago and he will delay his return to action as he has opted to skip the Canadian Open, which starts on August 7.
As a result, the singles and doubles clashes in Cincinnati will be his only competitive matches before the final Grand Slam of the year, the US Open, starts on August 28 at Flushing Meadows in New York.
Djokovic, of course, also played doubles ahead of his successful title run at the Australian Open at the start of the year as he teamed up with Vasek Pospisil at the Adelaide Open, but the pair lost in the first round.
The 32-year-old Cacic is a regular on the doubles tour and he was part of the Serbia team that won the ATP Cup in 2020 and has three titles to his name. He is currently ranked No 57 with a 14-12 win-loss record in 2023.
Djokovic, meanwhile, has started his preparation for the US Open following a family holiday in Croatia with his coach Goran Ivanisevic revealing in an interview with Sportske Novosti that he is due to travel to America in the next few weeks with the Cincinnati Open starting on August 14.
“He was in Dubrovnik, on Korčula… He rested a bit, but now preparations are starting for the American tour,” he said. “Preparations begin at the end of next week, fitness starts slowly, and then tennis. I don’t know exactly, but there the week after he leaves for Cincinnati.”
It will be Djokovic’s first visit to the United States since the 2021 US Open as he was banned from entering the country last year and at the beginning of this season.
He will once again be one of the favourites to win the US Open along with defending champion Carlos Alcaraz.
“He is always motivated, a Grand Slam is a Grand Slam,” Ivanisevic said. “It will be a big fight again. It is good that at Wimbledon, but also before in Paris, a rivalry was created between two players who are 16 years apart. Each of their next matches will be even better, crazier and more watched.”
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