The 21-time Major winner Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the next week’s Cincinnati Masters. As was expected, a two-time champion will not seek the third title in Ohio, staying at home in Belgrade and waiting for positive news from New York in the upcoming ten days.
Thus, Novak will skip Cincinnati for the second straight year, focusing on the Olympic Games in 2021. Djokovic is 23-5 this season, competing in two out of three Majors and winning titles in Rome and Wimbledon. Novak skipped the Australian Open after a terrible ten-day saga over his visa, and things did not look good.
Playing with no rhythm, the Serb suffered early losses in Dubai and Monte Carlo before losing the final at home in Belgrade to Andrey Rublev. Building his form, Djokovic lost an epic battle against Carlos Alcaraz in the Madrid semi-final and played on a high level a week later in Rome.
The Serb secured his 38th Masters 1000 trophy and moved two clear of Rafael Nadal.
Novak Djokovic will miss Cincinnati.
Novak was ready for more at Roland Garros, reaching the quarter-final without losing a set. Djokovic faced his greatest rival, Rafael Nadal, in a battle for the semi-final and experienced a 6-2, 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 loss in four hours and 12 minutes.
Novak threw everything at Wimbledon and secured the seventh All England Club title and his 21st Major crown. Djokovic trailed two sets to love against Jannik Sinner in the quarter-final before performing one of his memorable comebacks.
The Serb took down Cameron Norrie and Nick Kyrgios in four sets to defend the title and move one Wimbledon crown behind Roger Federer. After losing five finals, Novak finally lifted the Cincinnati trophy in 2018 following a victory over Roger Federer.
The Serb added the second trophy to his tally two years ago, beating Milos Raonic 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 in two hours. Winning five matches in New York, Djokovic secured the second Career Golden Masters after lifting the second Cincinnati crown.
The Canadian had 26 winners and 25 unforced errors, building the edge in the shortest range up to four strokes but losing ground in the more advanced ones, especially in sets two and three. Nothing worked for Novak in the opener, and he raised his level after that to control the pace and bring the victory home.
