Scouting Report: Stars Converge On Cincinnati

All-Star Line-up in Cincinnati: The seventh ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament of the season, the Western & Southern Open, features 18 of the Top 20 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Leading the way is World No. 2 and two-time champion (2008, ’11) Andy Murray, who is the top seed for the first time in a Masters 1000 tournament. The other former champion in the field is 2013 winner Rafael Nadal, who also reached the semi-finals in 2008-09. In 54 of the past 58 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments (since 2010 Monte-Carlo), a member of the Big Four has captured the title.

2016 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Finals: The Big Four have accounted for all six ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles this season, with Djokovic leading the way with four crowns and Murray and Nadal with one. Here is a look at this year’s finals:

Indian Wells: Novak Djokovic d. Milos Raonic 62 60

Miami: Novak Djokovic d. Kei Nishikori 63 63

Monte-Carlo: Rafael Nadal d. Gael Monfils 75 57 60

Madrid: Novak Djokovic d. Andy Murray 62 36 63

Rome: Andy Murray d. Novak Djokovic 63 63

Toronto: Novak Djokovic d. Kei Nishikori 63 75

2016 ATP World Tour Masters 1000 Wins Leaders: Here is a look at this year’s ATP World Tour Masters 1000 match wins leaders:

Player	W/L
Novak Djokovic	26-2
Kei Nishikori	18-5
Milos Raonic	17-6
Gael Monfils	16-6
Andy Murray	14-4
Rafael Nadal	14-4
David Goffin	14-6

Murray Streaking Along: Murray has reached the final in his past six tournaments going back to May at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Madrid. The 29-year-old Brit enters Sunday’s gold medal match at the Rio Olympics on a 17-match winning streak, equaling his career best in 2011. Since May, he has compiled a 32-2 match record, winning titles at ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Rome, at The Queen’s Club and at Wimbledon. His only losses during that stretch have come to Djokovic in Madrid and Roland Garros. Murray has a 27-9 career record in Cincinnati. In addition to his two titles, he reached the semi-finals in 2009 and last year. Murray is also within reach of 600 career match wins (597 going into gold medal match).

Stan Eyes Strong Result: Stan Wawrinka comes in as the No. 2 seed for the first time in his career in Cincinnati. In his last tournament at the Rogers Cup, Wawrinka advanced to the semi-finals (l. to Nishikori). The 31-year-old Swiss native is making his eighth straight appearance in Cincinnati, 10^th overall (12-9 record). His best result is the semi-finals in 2012. He also reached the quarter-finals the past two years. He is a three-time ATP World Tour winner this season (Chennai, Dubai, Geneva). He has a 31-11 match record, including 18-5 on hard courts.

Rafa’s Resurgence:  No. 3 seed and 2013 champion Rafael Nadal makes his 11^th Cincinnati appearance (19-9 record). The 30-year-old Spaniard missed two months with a wrist injury before returning to the Rio Olympics where he captured the gold medal in doubles (w/M. Lopez). In singles, he reached the semi-finals (l. to del Potro) and lost in the bronze medal match versus Nishikori.

#NextGen Stars: There are five #NextGen stars (21 & under in Top 200) in the main draw, not including possible qualifiers (listed by age): 

Player	Rank	Age
Taylor Fritz, USA (WC)	56	18 Years, 9 Months
Alexander Zverev, GER	27	19 Years, 3 Months
Borna Coric, CRO	51	19 Years, 9 Months
Jared Donaldson, USA (WC)	122	19 Years, 10 Months
Nick Kyrgios, AUS	16	21 Years, 3 Months

Teenager Update: Wild card Reilly Opelka (18) is one of five teenagers in the main draw (other four above). Opelka, who reached the semi-finals in Atlanta earlier this month, is appearing in his first career ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. The five teenagers in the main draw are the most in Cincinnati since 2005 when there were six (all present or past Top 10 players): Tomas Berdych, Novak Djokovic, Richard Gasquet, Gael Monfils, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal.

Milos on the Move: Top Canadian and No. 4 seed Milos Raonic is playing in his second tournament since becoming the first Canadian man to reach a Grand Slam singles final at Wimbledon on July 10. Raonic enters with a 39-10 match record on the season (19-4 on hard) and this is his fifth appearance in Cincinnati (8-4). He reached the semi-finals in 2014 (l. to Federer) and the quarter-finals in 2012 (l. to Wawrinka). Raonic is No. 3 in the Emirates ATP Race to London. He captured his eighth career ATP World Tour title in Brisbane (d. Federer).

Berdych & Goran Team Up: This will be the first tournament No. 6 seed Tomas Berdych will play while working with former World No. 2 Goran Ivanisevic, who split with countryman Marin Cilic last month. Berdych is making his 12^th consecutive appearance in Cincinnati, the most of any player in the singles draw. His best result is the semi-finals in 2011 and 2013.

Frenchmen Lead the Way: World No. 1 Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut come into the tournament as the top seeds. The French duo have compiled a 30-5 match record this season, winning five titles, including Wimbledon and the first three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments (Indian Wells, Miami, Monte-Carlo). The No. 2 seeds are five-time doubles champions Bob Bryan and Mike Bryan, who are making their 17^th straight appearance (18^th overall). They have captured the Cincinnati title in 2003, ’08, ’10, ’13-14. Overall they have a 36-13 match record in Cincinnati. They have won three titles this season (Houston, Barcelona, Rome) and reached two other finals (Delray Beach, Roland Garros). Last year’s champions Daniel Nestor and Edouard Roger-Vasselin are playing with different partners. Nestor is teaming with Vasek Pospisil and Roger-Vasselin with Julien Benneteau.

London Finals Preview: The season-ending Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London is three months away and this week’s tournament could be an early preview of the year-end finale. All Top 10 squads in the Emirates ATP Doubles Team Rankings (as of Aug. 8) are in the draw.

In Case You Missed It

Ivo Karlovic adds the Los Cabos title to his strong 2016 results. Read

Purav Raja and Divij Sharan take the Los Cabos doubles crown. Read

Rafael Nadal notches his 800^th career win in Rio. Read

Vote for your favourite Cincinnati Golden Moment. Watch & Vote

Birthdays

16 August – Diego Schwartzman (24)

17 August – Denis Kudla (24)

21 August – Nicolas Almagro (31)