𝓤𝓷𝓲𝓽𝓮𝓭 𝓝𝓮𝔀𝓼

Novak Djokovic has pulled out of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Cincinnati, the final warm-up tournament before the US Open.

It marks the second straight year that the Serbian has withdrawn from the event, and means that he will not have played a competitive match between his loss to eventual champion Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals and the start of the US Open – a gap of almost a month and a half.

A spokesperson for the Cincinnati Open, which begins on 7 August, confirmed that Djokovic had withdrawn. He also withdrew from this month’s Canadian Open, another Masters 1000 event, which is currently underway.

In recent years, Djokovic – ranked the world No 6 – has opted for a fairly sparse calendar, choosing to preserve his body and aim to peak for the grand slam tournaments as he searches for a 25th major title.

This time last year, he withdrew from Cincinnati after winning Olympic gold, the one significant title that had eluded him throughout his career, and did not play between his Paris triumph and the US Open. He suffered a surprise defeat in the third round in New York to Alexei Popyrin.

A lack of match sharpness has not been a major issue for him this season so far: Djokovic did not play between reaching the semi-finals at the French Open, when he also lost to Sinner, and Wimbledon, but produced a fine run to make the last four again.

The 38-year-old said after his exit at Wimbledon, “It’s just age, the wear and tear of the body. As much as I’m taking care of it, the reality hits me right now.

“It’s tough for me to accept that because I feel like, when I’m fresh, when I’m fit, I can still play really good tennis. I’ve proven that this year. But I guess playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically.

“The longer the tournament goes, the worse the condition gets. I feel like I’m going into the match with the tank half empty. It’s just not possible to win a match like that.”

He has not won a grand slam since the 2023 US Open, with Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz winning the last seven majors between them. Sinner is the defending champion in New York.

Djokovic will most likely be in action next at the revamped mixed doubles tournament at the US Open, which takes place in the week before the singles main draw begins. He has been granted a wildcard spot in the 16-strong draw alongside compatriot Olga Danilovic.