Novak Djokovic, who is looking to sweep all four Grand Slam titles in 2021, has decided to withdraw from the Cincinnati Open.
One of the reasons for the decision is that the Serbian will still need more time to recover after the Tokyo Olympics.
The player, who has now 20 Grand Slam titles, could become the first male player since Rod Laver in 1969 to win all four Grand Slam titles in one season if he wins the 2021 US Open.
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The 34-year-old lost to Germany’s Alexander Zverev in the semifinals of the Tokyo Olympics and was followed by a loss to Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta in the bronze medal match. The match against Carreno Busta was his last match before the US Open after withdrawing from the prestigious final warm-up tournament, the Cincinnati Open, the Masters 1000 tournament he won last season (beating Milos Raonic). To date, he has recorded 38-5 in the 2021 season.
“I need a little more time to recuperate after a tiring journey from Australia to Tokyo,” Novak Djokovic wrote on his social media account.
“Unfortunately, that means I won’t be ready to compete in Cincinnati this season. So I will turn my attention to the US Open and spend more time with my family. See you again in New York in the near future.”
World number 1 Djokovic has won the Cincinnati Open on two occasions, including last season when the tournament was held in New York, at the same venue as the US Open, due to the current pandemic. While in the 2018 season, he managed to win all the Masters 1000 tournament titles which are often called the Golden Masters by winning the tournament (beating Roger Federer).
Even without the player who has won his first three Grand Slam titles this season, Djokovic, the Cincinnati Open will still feature a number of other tennis stars such as Rafael Nadal, Daniil Medvedev, Marin Cilic, Grigor Dimitrov and Andy Murray.
The 2021 Cincinnati Open will be held August 15-22.
