Novak Đoković returns to Cincinnati after three years with the US Open firmly in focus for late summer

Novak Đoković confirms Cincinnati return: three-time champion to play in Ohio again after three years

Novak Đoković has confirmed that he will compete at the Cincinnati Open in August, appearing at one of the most important tournaments of the American part of the season for the first time since winning the title in 2023. The organizers confirmed his arrival on July 30, 2026, and the 39-year-old Serbian tennis player said in a video message that he was looking forward to returning in front of the crowd in the United States. He particularly highlighted the 2023 final against Carlos Alcaraz, a match that ended after almost four hours of play and in which he saved a match point before winning his third trophy at the tournament. Đoković missed the 2024 and 2025 editions, so this year's appearance will be his first in Cincinnati after a three-year absence. The tournament will also be his main competitive test before the US Open, after he previously withdrew from the Masters 1000 event in Montreal.

Return to the scene of one of the greatest comebacks of his career

Đoković announced the news in a video on the Cincinnati Open's official channels. He said that he was very happy to confirm his participation and recalled that in 2023 he had played one of the three best Masters 1000 finals of his career there. He added that he was looking forward to competing again in front of fans from around the world. His statement carries additional weight because of the manner in which he won his most recent title in Ohio: he defeated Alcaraz 5-7, 7-6 (7), 7-6 (4), after three hours and 49 minutes of play. According to data from the tournament and the ATP, it was the longest best-of-three-sets final in ATP Tour history since the introduction of the Masters series in 1990.

The final was played in demanding weather conditions, with intense heat and humidity, and Đoković found himself in a very difficult position during the second set. Alcaraz led by a set and a break and then earned a match point in the second-set tie-break. Đoković saved it with a combination of a powerful serve and forehand, won the set and then endured another series of momentum shifts in the deciding set. He needed five match points to secure the victory, after which he fell to the court and celebrated one of the most dramatic triumphs of his long career. The organizers later described the encounter as one of the best matches in ATP Masters 1000 history, while Đoković himself said that it was one of the most physically, mentally and emotionally difficult contests he had ever played.

That victory was not important only because of the trophy. Cincinnati served as direct preparation for the US Open, where several weeks later he won his 24th Grand Slam title. It was the second time that he had won the tournaments in Cincinnati and New York in the same season, after also accomplishing the feat in 2018. His return in 2026 therefore naturally raises the question of whether the same part of the calendar can once again help him reach peak form immediately before the final Grand Slam tournament of the season.

Three titles and a long search for the first trophy

Đoković's relationship with the Cincinnati Open has been marked by both major victories and a series of painful defeats in the latter stages. Before winning his first title, he lost five finals, in 2008, 2009, 2011, 2012 and 2015. For a long time, the tournament was the only Masters 1000 event he had not won, although he had already claimed at least one trophy at every other tournament in that category. The turning point came in 2018, when he defeated Roger Federer 6-4, 6-4 in the final. With that result, he became the first tennis player to win all nine tournaments in what was then the Masters 1000 series, completing the so-called Career Golden Masters.

He won his second title in 2020 with a victory over Miloš Raonić, but that edition was temporarily relocated to the Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York because of the COVID-19 pandemic. His third trophy came in 2023 in Mason, the city northeast of Cincinnati where the Lindner Family Tennis Center is located. According to ATP statistics, Đoković has a record of 45 wins and 12 losses at this event. He won the title in each of his last two appearances, so he enters the tournament on a ten-match winning streak. His most recent defeat in Cincinnati came back in the 2019 semifinals.

His three titles belong to different stages of his career. The first marked the completion of his Masters 1000 collection, the second confirmed his dominance under extraordinary pandemic circumstances, and the third came in one of the most famous matches of his rivalry with Alcaraz. In 2026, Đoković returns as a player who has won a record 40 Masters 1000 tournaments, 24 Grand Slam titles and a total of 101 ATP trophies. The ATP also states that he spent a record 428 weeks at the top of the world rankings. On the current Cincinnati Open player list, he is ranked as the world No. 5.

Why Cincinnati is crucial before the US Open

This year's Cincinnati Open takes place from August 8 to 23, while qualifying begins on August 11 and the singles finals are scheduled for Sunday, August 23. The main draw of the US Open begins on August 30 in New York, leaving Đoković only one week between the conclusion of the event in Ohio and the start of the season's final Grand Slam. Precisely because of such a schedule, Cincinnati traditionally serves as an important test of adaptation to North American hard courts, summer weather conditions and a different rhythm of play after the grass-court season.

For Đoković, the importance of the competition will be even greater because he has not played since the Wimbledon semifinal, in which he was defeated by Jannik Sinner in July. In the quarterfinals of that tournament, the Serbian tennis player defeated Félix Auger-Aliassime after five hours and 15 minutes, and during the match he requested assistance because of a leg problem. The long and physically exhausting London campaign further explains his cautious approach to the remainder of the season, although Đoković did not publicly cite an injury as the reason for his withdrawal from Montreal. The ATP and Tennis Canada announced on July 24 that he and Sinner had withdrawn from the Canadian Masters 1000, which is played from August 2 to 13.

Tennis Canada did not announce a specific reason for Đoković's withdrawal. Tournament director Valérie Tétreault emphasized that the organizers respected the players' decisions and that health had to remain the priority in a demanding calendar, but she also drew attention to the broader issue of increasingly frequent late withdrawals from Masters 1000 events. Đoković's choice of Cincinnati shows that he did not decide to skip all warm-up tournaments before New York, as he did in 2025. At that time, after Wimbledon, he withdrew from both the Canadian tournament and Cincinnati and arrived at the US Open without an official match on American hard courts.

This time, the strategy is different. Instead of two consecutive Masters tournaments, he selected one event where he has a strong history, good results and enough time to adapt. Such a schedule reduces the number of competitive weeks but allows him to play several matches against top opponents before the US Open. How many he actually plays will depend on the draw and his results, but even a few encounters could be important for his movement, return of serve and endurance in conditions that differ from Wimbledon.

A tournament with the strongest possible field

Đoković's return further strengthens an already exceptionally strong tournament field. According to the Cincinnati Open's official list, the men's draw includes world No. 1 Jannik Sinner, Alexander Zverev, Carlos Alcaraz, Félix Auger-Aliassime, Alex de Minaur, Daniil Medvedev, Ben Shelton and Taylor Fritz. In mid-July, the organizers announced that every available player from the top 75 of the ATP and WTA rankings had entered, although changes before the start of the competition are always possible because of injuries, fatigue or other reasons. The defending men's champion is Alcaraz, who defeated Sinner in the 2025 final.

A possible new meeting between Đoković and Alcaraz will attract particular attention because of their history in Ohio. Their 2023 final remains one of the symbols of the generational rivalry between the most successful player in modern men's tennis and the Spanish champion who has assumed the leading role in the new generation. However, the path to such an encounter will not be simple. Sinner entered 2026 as the world No. 1 and reigning Wimbledon champion, while Zverev is also among the leading contenders to reach the closing stages. In such competition, Đoković will very quickly receive a precise answer about his current level of play.

The tournament is played at the renovated Lindner Family Tennis Center, which underwent a 260-million-dollar project before the 2025 edition. According to the organizers, the complex was expanded, practice courts, a new clubhouse and facilities for players and spectators were added, while the singles draw was increased to 96 male and female players. After that edition, the Cincinnati Open was named ATP Masters 1000 Tournament of the Year, and in 2025 it attracted a record 285,571 spectators. For Đoković, this will be his first appearance at the fully renovated complex, since he last played there before the transformation was completed.

Changed priorities accompanied by a more selective schedule

In recent seasons, Đoković has repeatedly made it clear that he adapts his schedule around Grand Slam tournaments and recovery. At the age of 39 and with more than two decades of professional experience, his number of appearances is no longer comparable with the period in which he fought for the year-end No. 1 ranking every season. Instead of playing a long sequence of tournaments, he increasingly selects competitions that can provide the best preparation for his biggest goals. Cincinnati fits into that plan because of the surface, timing and his history of success there.

However, a smaller number of tournaments also brings risk. Without a continuous competitive rhythm, it is harder to immediately find the best timing against players who accumulate matches from week to week, while an early elimination would leave him with very little official tennis before the US Open. On the other hand, a long winning run could create a physical burden immediately before New York. Managing that balance between form and freshness will be one of the main elements of his August campaign.

The return to Cincinnati is therefore not merely another appearance in a distinguished career, but also an important indicator of Đoković's ambitions in the closing part of the season. His last match at the tournament ended with a trophy, after he saved a match point and played almost four hours of top-level tennis. Three years later, he returns to the same place with a different position in the world rankings, a more limited schedule and the same major objective: to find the level of play that can carry him to another deep run at the US Open.

Sources:
- Cincinnati Open – official announcement and Novak Đoković's video message about his return to the tournament (link)
- Cincinnati Open – official player list for the 2026 edition and information about the tournament field (link)
- Cincinnati Open – official 2026 tournament schedule, qualifying and final dates, and information about the renovation of the complex (link)
- Cincinnati Open – report on the 2023 Đoković-Alcaraz final and official information about the duration, score and saved match point (link)
- ATP Tour – confirmation of Đoković's withdrawal from Montreal in 2026 and information about his most recent Wimbledon appearance (link)
- Tennis Canada – official statement on the withdrawals of Đoković and Sinner from Montreal and a statement from the tournament director (link)
- ATP Tour – historical overview of Đoković's first Cincinnati title and the completion of the Career Golden Masters in 2018 (link)
- ATP Tour – confirmation of his withdrawal from Cincinnati in 2025 and the official tournament win-loss record (link)
- ATP Tour – confirmation that Đoković missed the 2024 Cincinnati Open after winning Olympic gold (link)
- ATP Tour – information about 101 ATP titles and a record 428 weeks at the top of the rankings (link)
- US Open – official dates of the 2026 main singles draw in New York (link)