10 Things To Watch In Cincinnati

The ATP World Tour returns to Cincinnati this week for the seventh Masters 1000 event of the year. Held at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, the Western & Southern Open welcomes Rafael Nadal as its top seed and seven-time champion Roger Federer as the second seed.

1) No. 1 On the Line: Either Federer or Nadal will be World No. 1 following the Western & Southern Open. If Federer and Nadal meet in the Cincinnati final on August 20, the winner will reclaim No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on August 21. See below for all scenarios.

NADAL & FEDERER’s POTENTIAL POINTS IN CINCINNATI

2) Long Time Coming: Federer, 36, debuted at No. 1 on Feb. 2, 2004 and has not been No. 1 since Nov. 4, 2012. He is hoping to break a pair of Andre Agassi’s records. Federer, a seven-time Cincinnati champion, would be the oldest World No. 1 since rankings were established in 1973. The four years and 289 days since Nov. 4, 2012 would be the longest gap between stints at No. 1.

3) Third Time’s the Charm: Nadal is trying for the third time this summer to regain the No. 1 ranking. He would already be No. 1 had he advanced to the semi-finals at either Wimbledon or Montreal.

4) Thiem’s Travails: No. 3 seed Dominic Thiem is 5-5 since Roland Garros, squandering match point(s) in recent losses to Kevin Anderson at Washington and Diego Schwartzman at Montreal.

5) Sascha in Cincy: No. 4 seed Alexander Zverev is one of nine #NextGenATP players in the Cincinnati main draw. Zverev is on pace to qualify for both the Next Gen ATP Finals and Nitto ATP Finals. The German has already punched his ticket to Milan and is No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Race To London.

6) Title Drought: No. 6 seed Milos Raonic has played 31 tournaments since his last championship at 2016 Brisbane. He opens against either Borna Coric or Nikoloz Basilashvili. Zverev is a potential quarter-final opponent.

7) American Invasion: Among the 10 Americans in the main draw prior to the conclusion of qualifying are No. 13 seed Jack Sock, No. 14 seed John Isner, No. 15 seed Sam Querrey and #NextGenATP wild cards Jared Donaldson, Stefan Kozlov, Tommy Paul and Frances Tiafoe.

8) Qualifiers Make Their Mark: Seven players advanced to the main draw through qualifying, including two Americans. In his fifth year since turning pro, Mitchell Krueger will make his ATP World Tour Masters 1000 debut. It will be Krueger’s third ATP World Tour main draw of the U.S. summer (Newport, Washington). Also making his Masters 1000 debut will be Christopher Eubanks, who enjoyed a stunning run to the quarter-finals at the BB&T Atlanta Open last month. The college star at Georgia Tech opens against Gael Monfils.

9) Tipsarevic Lucky Loser: Former World No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic is making his return to the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 stage, receiving Lucky Loser entry into the main draw following Kei Nishikori’s withdrawal due to a right wrist injury. The Serbian, who opens against Steve Johnson or David Ferrer, is appearing in his first Masters 1000 event of the year and making his return to Cincinnati following a three-year absence.

10) The Odd Couple: Eight Grand Slam championship teams are in the field, but the talk of the Western & Southern Open doubles draw is a first-time pairing. Zverev, 20, and Leander Paes, 44, will make their team debut. Paes is a former World No. 1 and two-time Cincinnati champion.