Many contenders for victory at the Cincinnati Open

The Cincinnati Open, the final major preparatory tournament for the US Open, kicks off next week. Because it's the perfect way for many players to get in shape for the final Grand Slam of the year, almost all of tennis's elite has already traveled to the United States to participate in the Cincinnati tournament. However, the defending champion, newly crowned Olympic champion Novak Djokovic, is absent. The Cincinnati Open came just a little too soon for the Serbian. Coco Gauff, the defending women's champion, will be present to once again bid for the title at this year's Cincinnati Masters. Sjeng Sports looks ahead to the Cincinnati tournament and summarizes the most important facts for you. 

Griekspoor the only Dutchman at the Cincinnati Masters 

The popularity of the Cincinnati Open among the world's elite tennis players is evident in the impressive field of participants at this year's Cincinnati Open. Djokovic, along with the injured Alex de Minaur, is one of only two players from the world's top twenty who will not be competing at the ATP Cincinnati. The only Dutch player in the Cincinnati Masters lineup is Tallon Griekspoor . He will face American Alex Michelsen in the first round, and if he wins, he will face world number one Jannik Sinner in the next round.  

With Sinner, we're talking directly about one of the main contenders for the title at the Cincinnati Open. Sinner was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the previous tournament in Toronto and will be eager for revenge. The same applies to Carlos Alcaraz , who won the silver medal at the Olympic Games after losing to Djokovic in the final. Alcaraz is the second seed in Cincinnati and therefore, like the other eight top-seeded players in this tournament, has a bye in the first round. This does not apply to Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek player is the ninth seed at the Cincinnati Masters and will face Jan-Lennard Struff in the first round. 

Korda and Popyrin in shape 

Other names considered outside contenders for the title include hardcourt enthusiast Daniil Medvedev , Alexander Zverev, and Andrey Rublev, the Russian who reached the final of the Toronto tournament last week. But that's not all, because anyone who's followed tennis closely in recent weeks knows that many more players are capable of winning major tournaments. Sebastian Korda, for example, won the Washington tournament, and Alexei Popyrin pulled off an upset by winning the Toronto tournament in a more than strong field. Add to that the presence of other world-class players like Hubert Hurkacz, Grigor Dimitrov, and Holger Rune, and you know we can look forward to another tournament that could go either way! 

A first Cincinnati Open title for Swiatek? 

The women's field is also impressive. While world number one Iga Swiatek skipped the Toronto tournament, she's now attending the Cincinnati Open to win her first title in her career. However, she still has some tough competition to contend with. Gauff, for example, will undoubtedly be looking to defend her title from last year, and there are other contenders, including Elena Rybakina and Aryna Sabalenka. Jessica Pegula also showed her fine form with a well-deserved victory on the hard courts in Toronto, and that's without even mentioning Olympic champion Qinwen Zheng, Jasmine Paolini, and former champion Viktoria Azarenka. They too are part of the Cincinnati Open lineup and will undoubtedly be vying for the title.  

The Cincinnati Open begins on August 12 and runs through August 19. 

Latest Cincinnati Open winners
2019: Daniil Medvedev (m) and Madison Keys (f)
2020: Novak Djokovic (m) and Viktoria Azarenka (f)
2021: Alexander Zverev (m) and Ashleigh Barty (f)
2022: Borna Coric (m) and Caroline Garcia (f)
2023: Novak Djokovic (m) and Coco Gauff (f)