CINCINNATI: Novak Djokovic withdrew on Monday from this week’s start of the ATP Cincinnati Masters, with the pullout coming a year to the day from his Paris Olympic gold medal victory.

Tournament officials confirmed the news to The Athletic, meaning the 38-year-old Serb will have played no matches between his Wimbledon semi-final loss to Jannik Sinner and the US Open start in three weeks.

World number one Sinner, who like Djokovic and Carlos Alcaraz skipped the current ATP Toronto Masters in order to rest and recover from Wimbledon, has been in Cincinnati since the weekend.

Sinner and his team posted a golf course selfie to social media on Monday, one day after an opening practice session at the pre-US Open event.

Djokovic, winner of 24 Grand Slam singles titles, first played Cincinnati in 2005 and won the last of his three titles there in 2023 after losing five previous finals.

The US Open will take place from Aug 24 to Sept 7 in New York City.

Published in Dawn, August 6th, 2025