Novak Djokovic lost his first match in the United States since 2021, in the Western & Southern Open, an ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Djokovic, who is ranked second in the ATP singles rankings, partnered with Nikola Cacic for the doubles match to ensure he had some match practice before starting his singles campaign against a star-studded field. They lost 6-4, 6-2 against Jamie Murray and Michael Venus in the finals. Djokovic was back in the nation after missing multiple tournaments due to Covid-19 vaccine restrictions.
The defeat was remarkable since it was Djokovic’s first competitive match since losing to top-ranked Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final. Despite this defeat, Djokovic is still the favourite to win the Cincinnati title. Notably, this is the first Masters 1000 tournament to have all 20 of the best players since 2003.
While the loss in the doubles match was surprising, Djokovic seems ready to compete in the tournament’s singles category. His first-round opponent will be Alejandro Davidovich Fokina.
In the meantime, World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz, who will defend his US Open title later this month, survived a scare in the first round. After bouncing back from a second-set setback, he beat Jordan Thompson 7-5, 4-6, 6-3.
Alcaraz will be hoping for a deep run in Cincinnati after losing in the quarter-finals of last week’s Toronto Masters against Tommy Paul of the United States.