The 2023 Western and Southern Open, aka the Cincinnati Masters draw, was made Friday and sees Novak Djokovic return to action for the first time since his defeat in the Wimbledon final to Carlos Alcaraz.
The Spaniard is the top seed and will be looking to bounce back after his quarter-final loss to Tommy Paul in Toronto.
Djokovic won the title the last time he played Cincinnati, albeit when it was relocated to New York in 2020, and he will be looking to start his US Open series campaign with a solid tournament as he can potentially return to world number one should Alcaraz not make the final.
You can see the full draw below.
Tournament Info
Name: Western and Southern Open / Cincinnati Masters
Dates: August 13th – 20th 2023
Surface: Outdoor Hard Court
Draw: Singles 56 / Doubles 28
Category: ATP Masters 1000
Total Prize Money: $6,600,000
Total Financial Commitment: $7,665,215 (see FAQ)
Cincinnati Masters 2023 Seeds
Carlos Alcaraz
Novak Djokovic
Daniil Medvedev
Stefanos Tsitsipas
Casper Ruud
Holger Rune
Andrey Rublev
Jannik Sinner
Taylor Fritz
Frances Tiafoe
Karen Khachanov
Félix Auger-Aliassime
Cameron Norrie
Tommy Paul
Borna Ćorić
Alexander Zverev
2023 Cincinnati Masters Draw
Top Half
Carlos Alcaraz (1) vs Bye
John Isner (WC) vs Jordan Thompson (Q)
Ugo Humbert vs Arthur Fils (Q)
Miomir Kecmanovic vs Tommy Paul (14)
Tallon Griekspoor vs Frances Tiafoe (10)
Brandon Nakashima (WC) vs Stan Wawrinka (WC)
Lloyd Harris (PR) vs Max Purcell (Q)
Casper Ruud (5) vs Bye
Bye vs Stefanos Tsitsipas (4)
Christopher Eubanks vs Ben Shelton
Hubert Hurkacz vs Thansi Kokkinakis (Q)
Sebastian Korda vs Borna Coric (15)
Andy Murray vs Karen Khachanov (11)
Roman Safiullin vs Nicolas Jarry
Corentin Moutet (Q) vs Emil Ruusuvuori
Andrey Rublev (7) vs Bye
Bottom Half
Bye vs Holger Rune (6)
Yannick Hanfmann vs Mackenzie McDonald (WC)
Richard Gasquet vs Adrian Mannarino
Felix Auger-Aliassime (12) vs Matteo Berrettini
Alexander Zverev (16) vs Grigor Dimitrov
Yoshihito Nishioka vs Gregoire Barrere
Daniel Evans vs Lorenzo Musetti
Daniil Medvedev (3) vs Bye
Jannik Sinner (8) vs Bye
Francisco Cerundolo vs Dusan Lajovic (Q)
Lorenzo Sonego vs Alexander Shevchenko (Q)
Jiri Lehecka vs Taylor Fritz (9)
Cameron Norrie (13) vs Gael Monfils (PR)
Alex de Minaur vs J.J. Wolf
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs Tomas Martin Etcheverry
Novak Djokovic (2) vs Bye
Full PDF draw.
Thoughts on the Draw
Cincinnati has historically been one of my favourite tournaments, and the 2023 draw has several intriguing early matchups.
Djokovic will be looking to hit the ground running. Still, he has a potentially tricky opener in the bottom half of the draw against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina or Tomas Martin Etcheverry.
Fokina played well in Toronto, but it depends on what mood he’s in should he face Djokovic. He’ll either play unbelievably well and push Novak hard or implode and hit an underarm serve on break point down. Either way, it should be interesting if they meet.
Djokovic is seeded to meet 11th seed Cam Norrie in round three, but he’s not in form before a potential quarter-final with Jannik Sinner.
However, with the Italian contesting the Rogers Cup final, it’s not unlikely that he will suffer a letdown in Cincy, with very few players able to back up deep runs in back-to-back Masters 1000 tournaments.
Daniil Medvedev and Holger Rune are potential semi-final opponents for Djokovic. Medvedev is a former champion in 2019 who will be looking to maintain his self-proclaimed moniker of hard court specialist after his dominance earlier this year.
In the top half, Carlos Alcaraz is the first seed and will face either John Isner or a Jordan Thompson in round two. It’s been a while since Big John had any notable victories, but he made the final in 2013, and Alcaraz has never faced his serve in a competitive tour match.
Also in the top half sit Tsitsipas, Ruud, Rublev and the defending champion Borna Coric. The Croat starts his title defence against Seb Korda, which could be tricky.
Other American representation in the top half of the draw includes Tommy Paul, Frances Tiafoe, Ben Shelton, and Christopher Eubanks, who face each other in Round 1.
Notable First-Round Matches
Sascha Zverev vs Grigor Dimitrov: The 2021 champion vs the 2017 champion.
Ben Shelton vs Christopher Eubanks: The guy the media tell you is playing well vs the guy who actually has the results of someone playing well.
Dan Evans vs Lorenzo Musetti: Can the Washington champion put his early loss in Toronto to bed?
Karen Khachanov vs Andy Murray. Has the Brit recovered from the injury that saw him withdraw at the National Bank Open?
Who is your pick for the title in Cincinnati? Let me know in the comments.