24-time major winner Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open with the start of the tennis calendar's final major, the U.S. Open, about three weeks away, a tournament official confirmed to the New York Times Monday.
Djokovic, 38, is coming off of back-to-back semifinal finishes at the French Open and Wimbledon, with both defeats coming at the hands of world No. 1 Jannik Sinner. The Serbian tennis star also seemed to be compromised during his Wimbledon match against Sinner after slipping and landing awkwardly on the grass court towards the end of his quarterfinal win over Flavio Cobolli.
Both matches against Sinner, particularly the most recent loss at the All-England Club, left Djokovic facing the realities of his age, as well as the fact that his main competition for winning majors happens to be players nearly half his age.
"I guess playing best-of-five, particularly this year, has been a real struggle for me physically," Djokovic said after Wimbledon. "The longer the tournament goes, the worse the condition gets. I reach the final stages, I reach the semis of every Slam this year, but I have to play Sinner or [Carlos] Alcaraz. These guys are fit, young, sharp.
"I feel like I'm going into the match with tank half empty. It's just not possible to win a match like that."
Unless Djokovic is still feeling the effects of his injury, the move to skip Cincinnati appears to be a calculated decision aimed at getting the Serb some added rest ahead of the year's final major. At this point, Djokovic clearly values having a full tank rather than playing the tune-ups and potentially rising up the rankings should he win at a tournament such as Cincinnati.
The U.S. Open is scheduled to begin on August 24. Djokovic has won the tournament four times in his decorated career, most recently in 2023.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Novak Djokovic Withdraws From Cincinnati Open With U.S. Open Around the Corner .
