Carlos Alcaraz is ready to embrace the new-found pressure that has been placed upon him as he prepares to make his second appearance at the Western & Southern Open.

The Spaniard came through qualifying in Cincinnati last season, but will compete as the third seed this week. He has already captured four titles this year, including two ATP Masters 1000 triumphs.

“Right now, I take each match as a challenge for me to stay the same as always. I am No. 4 in the world, one of the favourites to win this tournament, so it is a bit tough to handle the pressure,” Alcaraz said in his pre-tournament press conference on Sunday.

“But I am training at my best. I am training with the objective to improve and try to produce the game I produced during the clay season and in Miami. It is a challenge for me to be the same.”

The 19-year-old holds a 42-8 record on the season, highlighted by title runs at ATP Masters 1000 events in Miami and Madrid. However, Alcaraz arrives in Ohio off the back of his earliest exit of the season.

The World No. 4 lost in the second round in Montreal, but is looking to bounce back in Cincinnati. He is aiming to use his defeat against Tommy Paul as a valuable learning experience.

“I understood everything of what happened in Montreal. I couldn’t handle the pressure to be one of the favourites to win the tournament or be the ranking that I am right now. I come here to train and now show where I am,” Alcaraz said. “The kind of player I am means that I am trying to use the pressure in my favour. I know I am playing against the best players in the world, so I am going to try my best.”

Alcaraz feels that his success this season, which he described as ‘crazy’, has caused players to raise their level against him. However, the 19-year-old views it as a positive.

“I take it as a compliment. I think all the players push themselves to be better on court against me,” Alcaraz said. “I think if they don’t play aggressively or at a high level, it is going to be a really tough match for them, so I am going to take that as a compliment.”

Alcaraz will face Nikoloz Basilashvili or Mackenzie McDonald in his opening match at the hard-court Masters 1000 event. The Spaniard will be aiming for a deep run in Cincinnati as he looks to strengthen his position in second in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

Rafael Nadal is excited at the opportunity to return to No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings over the next month, but believes it will not be an easy journey as he looks to prioritise his health.

The Spaniard will climb to top spot if he wins the Western & Southern Open title and current World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev fails to reach the quarter-finals in Cincinnati.

“It means a lot to me to have that opportunity [to rise to No. 1]. Something that I didn’t expect could happen again. The main thing is to stay healthy and play the events that I want to play,” Nadal said in his pre-tournament press conference on Sunday. “I will not play more than what I believe works well for my body.

“I am going to put all my efforts into every single event I play. It is something that doesn’t matter if I have the chance to be No. 1, but I am happy to be in this position and if it happens, I will be very happy.”

Nadal, who triumphed in Ohio in 2013, is competing at the ATP Masters 1000 event for the first time since 2017 and has not played a match since he was forced to withdraw from Wimbledon last month due to an abdominal injury.

The 36-time Masters 1000 champion will face Borna Coric or a qualifier in his opening clash and knows that it will take time for him to regain his match sharpness, with patience the key.

“You need to know that when you come back after a while that things aren’t going to be perfect,” Nadal said. “You can’t expect to play at an amazing level from the beginning. Knowing that you [need to] be humble enough to fight with the tools that you have at the beginning to win the first match. Then when you win a match or two matches things change and you start to feel competitive again.

“If you are playing well, and I think I am playing more or less ok, you have some good feelings on court. But competition is different and you need to accept that things are going to be difficult, even more so in a Masters 1000 because when you come back, even at a Grand Slam, if you are lucky with the draw, even if you aren’t playing at a high level you have a chance to win a couple of matches. But at a Masters 1000, opponents are very demanding right from the beginning so you need to play at a high level and that is what I am going to try to do.”

The second seed, who has won four titles in 2022, holding a 35-3 record on the season, suffered an abdominal injury during his quarter-final match against Taylor Fritz at The Championships. The injury forced him to withdraw ahead of his scheduled semi-final clash against Nick Kyrgios and it is a situation he is still monitoring.

“I am happy to be back in Cincinnati after a couple of years without the chance of being able to be here. I had a small tear in the abdomen, so it is dangerous,” Nadal said. “The abdominal is a place that is dangerous because on every serve you put a lot of effort there. I am trying to do things properly, trying to be a bit more conservative. I hope I can be ready for the action here.

“I want to play tennis again on the Tour. I am having a good season and I am enjoying it. I want to enjoy this week in Cincinnati,” the Spaniard later added.

Over recent years, Matteo Berrettini, Lorenzo Musetti and Jannik Sinner have been the shining lights of Italian tennis, with the trio capturing 14 tour-level titles between them.

However, if you scratch beneath the surface, you’ll find a plethora of young stars emerging, with eight of the Top 16 players in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan from Italy, including Musetti and Sinner.

The 21-year-old Francesco Passaro currently sits 10th and holds a 42-18 record on the year, having won his maiden ATP Challenger Tour title in Trieste last month. Guilio Zeppieri is in hot pursuit in 12th, having enjoyed a dream run to his first tour-level semi-final in Umag in July.

_{^{Francesco Passaro in action – Photo Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}}
While both will be looking to make their debuts in Milan, 13th placed Flavio Cobolli is no stranger to the Allianz Cloud, having hit as an alternate at the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals last year. The 20-year-old captured his first Challenger Tour crown in Zadar in March and is another exciting prospect for Italian fans to support.

View Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan Rankings

Luca Nardi, Francesco Maestrelli and Matteo Arnaldi round out the Top 16, with the trio lifting four Challenger Tour trophies between them this season.

As the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals come closer into sight, the Italians will look to finish the year strong and replicate the achievements of Musetti and Sinner by qualifying for the 21-and-under tournament in November. If they can, the home fans will have plenty to cheer about when the event rolls into the country for the fifth time at the end of the season.

Hubert Hurkacz is one of the shyest, most soft-spoken players on the ATP Tour.

You wouldn’t know it by the way 25-year-old from Poland drives. (He was once spotted behind the wheel of a gleaming-yellow McLaren 720S in the Southern California desert, and says if he hadn’t gone into the tennis business he might have pursued a career in auto racing.)

Or the way he serves — a stroke that has fast become one of the loudest, engine-revving weapons on the circuit. As we’ve seen this week at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, it’s a shot that has helped him out of many a sticky situation. In fact, all four of the World No. 10 Pole’s victories in Montreal, including his 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 dismissal of fourth seed Casper Ruud in Saturday’s semi-final, have gone the distance, his serve often the difference-maker.

He smacked 23 aces in his opener against Albert Ramos-Vinolas, 16 against Emil Ruusuvuori, 20 against Nick Kyrgios, and another 18 against Ruud, giving him a tournament-leading 77 (and counting) on the week.

Oh, how those free points can come in handy in a pinch.

“He’s got one of the best serves in the world,” said Kyrgios, a power-server himself, but now winless in two ATP Head2Heads with Hurkacz in 2022.

Hurkacz is now into his second ATP Masters 1000 hard-court final, having won the first in Miami in 2021 (def. Jannik Sinner, 7-6(4), 6-4). He comes in as the favourite against Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain, who has climbed seven spots this week to No. 16 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings. The 31-year-old Spaniard is into the first ATP Masters 1000 final of his career.

Hurkacz is a perfect five-for-five in finals coming into Sunday’s title tilt.

“I just try to give myself the best chance,” said the eighth seed. “I just try to compete as hard as I can, be as well prepared as I can. I was fortunate to win the first few finals. But tomorrow is going to be a new match. It’s going to be a very tricky one.” 

Carreno Busta didn’t drop a set all week until Brit Daniel Evans pushed him to three in a thrilling 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-2 semi-final. The two-time US Open semi-finalist, raised on clay, continues to show his considerable all-surface skills. It’s taken the Spaniard, who turned pro back in 2009, some time to reach this stage, but as he asked after his escape against Evans, “Why not now?”

“It’s probably one of the worst years of my career, with not really good results,” he laughed. “I did make the final in Barcelona, the semi-finals in Bastad, but now, I don’t know why, this week the level was unbelievable. I’m excited. It’s a big opportunity for me to know how to do it. For me, for my confidence, it’s very important to go on court tomorrow and try to do my best, to be aggressive and play my tennis.”

The finalists have split their two previous encounters, both coming in 2021 on hard courts: Carreno Busta prevailed in a Round-of-16 matchup in Cincinnati, 7-6(2), 6-3, while Hurkacz answered in the Metz final, 7-6(2), 6-3.

Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz are among those who have made the journey from Montreal to Cincinnati this week as they prepare to compete in the seventh ATP Masters 1000 event of the season at the Western & Southern Open.

Medvedev, who lifted the trophy in 2019, will face stiff competition from two-time Masters 1000 champion Alcaraz and Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who will try to win his 37th Masters 1000 crown in Cincinnati.

Taylor Fritz leads home hopes, while a string of stars will be aiming for deep runs to help boost their Nitto ATP Finals qualification chances.

ATPTour.com looks ahead at 10 things to watch in Cincinnati.

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1) Medvedev’s No. 1 Status: Medvedev arrives in Cincinnati aiming to secure his World No. 1 status after a disappointing second-round exit against Nick Kyrgios in Montreal left the door ajar for Nadal. The 26-year-old will guarantee his place at the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings if he secures two wins at the Masters 1000 event where he triumphed in 2019.

Top seed Medvedev, who also reached the semi-finals in Ohio last season, captured his only title of the year on the hard courts in Los Cabos earlier this month.

2) Nadal In Pursuit: Nadal will take to court for the first time since an abdominal tear forced him to pull out of Wimbledon before the semi-finals in July. The Spaniard, who has lifted 36 Masters 1000 trophies, including a Cincinnati triumph in 2013, will return to No. 1 if he wins the title and Medvedev fails to reach the quarter-finals.

The 36-year-old is making his first appearance in Ohio since 2017 and will be looking to clinch his fifth title of the season and improve on his standout 35-3 record.

3) Alcaraz Chasing Third Masters Crown: #NextGenATP Spaniard Carlos Alcaraz was ranked outside the Top 50 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings when he made his debut in Cincinnati last year. Now the 19-year-old is in the Top 5 and is seeded third in Ohio. Alcaraz holds a 12-3 record on hard courts this season, highlighted by his title run in Miami in April.

The 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals champion will face American wild card Mackenzie McDonald or Nikoloz Basilashvili in his opening match.

4) Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin Contenders: Some of the sport’s biggest stars will be aiming for deep runs in Cincinnati as they aim to boost their qualification chances for November’s Nitto ATP Finals.

Last year’s Cincinnati finalist Andrey Rublev currently occupies the final qualification spot in eighth place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, while Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime is in seventh and Pole Hubert Hurkacz is in ninth, with the chance to soar to fifth if he lifts the Montreal trophy Sunday.

Rublev, who has won three titles this season, will begin against Albert Ramos-Vinolas or a qualifier, while Rotterdam champ Auger-Aliassime will take on Alexander Bublik or Alex de Minaur. Hurkacz has advanced to the final in Montreal and will aim to maintain his good form against Benjamin Bonzi or John Isner.

5) Ruud Thriving On Hard Courts: Casper Ruud has transferred his strong clay-court form to the hard courts this season, with the Norwegian holding an 11-4 on the surface. The 23-year-old advanced to his maiden Masters 1000 final in Miami earlier this year and arrives in Cincinnati off the back of a run to the semi-finals in Montreal.

Fifth seed Ruud, currently No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, earned wins over Reilly Opelka and Diego Schwartzman to reach the quarter-finals in Cincinnati last season.

6) Milan Hopefuls In Action: Denmark’s Holger Rune and American Brandon Nakashima are currently in contention to qualify for the Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, sitting fourth and seventh respectively in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Milan.

Rune, who reached the second round in Montreal last week, faces a tricky first-round test on debut against ninth seed Cameron Norrie. Nakashima advanced to consecutive quarter-finals in Atlanta and Los Cabos last month and will play Aslan Karatsev in the first round.

7) Kyrgios, Sinner & Tsitsipas Chasing More Silverware: Nick Kyrgios has been revitalised on court this season, arriving in Cincinnati having won 15 of his past 17 matches. The Australian, who is a former finalist in Ohio, lifted the trophy in Washington earlier this month and holds a 30-8 record on the year.

Fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas lifted his second ATP Masters 1000 trophy in Monte Carlo and performed well in Cincinnati last year, reaching the semi-finals, while Sinner clinched the title in Umag last month.

The Italian, currently 14th in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, will begin his campaign against a qualifier.

8) Home Hopes: Taylor Fritz will lead the United States charge on home soil in Ohio, with 11 Americans in the draw, not including qualifiers. The 11th seed will be looking to capture his third title of the season and second Masters 1000 crown, having lifted the trophy in Indian Wells.

Tommy Paul enjoyed a run to the last eight in Montreal last week and starts against 21-year-old countryman Jenson Brooksby. Frances Tiafoe faces a difficult test in 12th seed Matteo Berrettini, who will be seeking his eighth tour-level trophy, but first on hard courts. Wild card Sebastian Korda could play the winner if he overcomes Karen Khachanov in the first round.

Newport champion Maxime Cressy is making his tournament debut and starts against Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp.

9) Former Champions In Draw: Marin Cilic and Grigor Dimitrov have fond memories in Cincinnati, having lifted the trophy in 2016 and 2017, respectively. Croatian Cilic, who beat Andy Murray in the championship match, is 23-14 on the season, with his best result a semi-final run at Roland Garros.

Dimitrov lost to Cilic in the semi-finals in Ohio in 2016, before he defeated Kyrgios for his first Masters 1000 trophy in 2017. The Bulgarian reached the quarter-finals in Indian Wells earlier this season, before advancing to the last four in Monte Carlo.

10) Ram/Salisbury Top Seeds: Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury will lead the doubles field as the top seeds and could face Australian Open winners Thanasi Kokkinakis and Kyrgios in their opening match. Reigning champions Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos and third seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski are also major contenders for the title. Alcaraz, Tsitsipas and Rublev are among the singles stars in doubles action.

Pablo Carreno Busta continued his tear through the Montreal draw on Saturday night with an all-action semi-final victory against Daniel Evans. The Spaniard won a high-quality battle of unseeded upstarts 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-2 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final.

The 31-year-old had a match point in the second-set tie-break but saw his perfect set streak on the week snapped at nine before storming back in a dominant final set. After so little separated the competitors for most of the two-hour, 58-minute marathon, Carreno Busta raced through the finish line by winning the final 12 points, including eight on return.

“It was fun for the crowd but for me it was tough,” he said of the gripping encounter. “I had a match point in the second set but he served pretty good so I couldn’t do anything. When you have a match point and have to play another set, it’s always hard to do it.

“Mentally I think I was very good. Probably the beginning of the third set was the hardest part of the match. But after that I thought I had to be more aggressive, try to push a lot, try to go to the net, and it was good.”

Carreno Busta will next face eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz as he bids to become the first unseeded champion at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers since Argentina’s Guillermo Canas in 2002.

The World No. 23 advanced to his second final of the season (Barcelona) by pairing his aggressive baseline game with a dominant first-serve performance in which he won 79 per cent (49/62) of points on his first delivery. He fired 43 winners and broke on five of his eight chances as he took control of the match down the stretch.

Despite neither player being seeded, this semi-final was a heavyweight fight complete with both men hitting the deck after being wrong-footed in a bruising rally. After Evans fell earlier in the match, Carreno Busta slipped late in the second-set tie-break to hand a mini-break back to Evans.

According to INSIGHTS: In Attack metrics, Carreno Busta was the aggressor throughout the evening, playing more balls from attacking positions than his opponent. But the gap was widest in the final set as he turned the screw, recovering from a lost match point to land the decisive blows. The Spaniard played 28 per cent of his shots from attacking positions in the third set, double the percentage of his opponent.

Carreno Busta did much of his attacking from the backcourt, while Evans put the pressure on with 45 net approaches, winning 32 of them (71%).

The Spaniard knocked off seeded Italians Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner to kickstart his Montreal run, a welcome change from what he called “probably the worst year of my career”. He now has a chance to claim his seventh and biggest ATP Tour title.

“This week, I don’t know why but the level was unbelievable,” he said. “I played really good matches at the beginning of the tournament. Yesterday [against Jack Draper] was not the best match but I suffered and I competed a lot. Today was the same. Probably I didn’t play the best tennis of the week but it’s very important to win these kind of matches when you are not playing your best. Happy to be in the final…. For sure I’m excited.”

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Carreno Busta has moved up 14 spots to 15th place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin this week, with a chance to move up to 11th with the title.

He and Hurkacz split their two previous ATP Head2Head meetings, both in 2021, with the Spaniard winning in Cincinnati and Hurkacz victorious in the Metz final.

That week in Metz, Hurkacz also won the doubles title with fellow Pole Jan Zielinski. His hopes of repeating that title sweep in Montreal were ended Saturday by Evans and John Peers in the semi-finals, where the British-Australian pair defeated Hurkacz and Zielinski 7-5, 4-6, 10-4.

#NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti began his quest to qualify for the Western & Southern Open by taking down German Daniel Altmaier 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 in two-hours, 46 minutes in Saturday’s first-round qualifying match at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

Musetti, 20, who claimed his first Tour-level title at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg this past month, joined countrymen Fabio Fognini and Lorenzo Sonego to complete an Italian trifecta. Fognini needed a third set tie-break to defeat Soonwoo Kwon 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(3), while Sonego had a comfortable, straight-sets victory over John Millman 7-5, 6-2, earning his first victory on a hard court since the Australian Open.

The Italians will all chase a main-draw birth Sunday as they play back-to-back-to-back on Court seven.

Also part of the star-studded qualifying field is David Goffin, a former finalist in Cincinnati, who needed just 45 minutes today to defeat Frenchman Hugo Gaston, 6-1, 6-0.

Marcos Giron won the all-American contest against Denis Kudla, 6-3, 6-2, joining Steve Johnson and Bradley Klahn as the only Americans remaining in Cincinnati’s qualifying draw.

Thanasi Kokkinakis won 27/30 (90%) of his first serve points before Benoit Paire was forced to retire, giving the Australian a 7-6, 3-1 victory. That sets up a second round qualifying match against Ilya Ivashka, who ousted home favourite Jack Sock 6-2, 6-3.

The final round of qualifying will be held on Sunday and will send seven players to the main draw at the Western & Southern Open.