All at the starting ribbons, after Montreal there’s Cincinnati: here’s who the Italians competing in Ohio will have to face.
All the bigs will be there, because at this time of the season the priority is to grind out as many points as possible, and then sleep soundly once the season comes to an end. All but one, as confirmed by the news spread in recent hours and bounced practically everywhere.
The defending champion will not be there, reasoning that the games are more open than ever. Novak Djokovic, who finally crowned his dream of winning the gold medal, preferred to forgo the Western & Southern Open. Partly to recover from Olympic fatigues and partly because, at this point in his career, it is certainly not the rankings per se that interest him. Least of all now that he has won everything, but everything, that he could win. He has nothing left, that is for sure, to prove.
Even in the absence of the multiple Slam champion, however, the entry list for the Cincinnati Masters 1000 is chock-full of champions who will be making fire and brimstone in order to secure the title that Nole sweated for last year. Leading the seeding is Jannik Sinner, followed by the other finalist of the 2023 edition, namely Carlos Alcaraz. And it will be the two of them, needless to say, the favorites to win the tournament that will enliven, from August 12 to 19, Ohio.
Cincinnati Masters 1000 main draw, who are the Italians starting
At the starting ribbons there will be, then, three other azzurri. First of all, Lorenzo Musetti, who will be one of the special observers after the last, excellent performances and after, above all, the bronze medal that arrived at the foot of the Tour Eiffel.
Luciano Darderi and Matteo Arnaldi will also compete for the prestigious title at stake, but there is more. Matteo Berrettini received a wild card and thus secured access to the main draw of the Cincinnati 2024 Masters 1000. He was entered in the qualifiers, but now he will obviously no longer need to take part: a place in the main draw is, now, officially his. No dice either for Rafael Nadal, who will also miss the Us Open and return to the court directly for the Laver Cup.
All that remains to be seen, at this point, is what fate will hold for the athletes who have confirmed their presence in Ohio. And it will all depend on the draw for the Cincinnati main draw, which will take place later today, Saturday, Aug. 10, at 9:30 p.m. Italian time.