Novak Djokovic withdraws from Cincinnati Open: Is this his strategy for a 25th Grand Slam at US Open?

Novak Djokovic has been added to the list of withdrawals from the Cincinnati Open and will wait until the US Open to return to the courts. The 24-time Grand Slam champion had already withdrawn from the Canadian Open to take a longer rest in preparation for the last Grand Slam of the year, but this time it was confirmed that he will not be in Cincinnati either.

This will be the fourth time in the last five years that Djokovic has decided to skip the Cincinnati Open, a tournament where he has had great success with three titles—all in his last four appearances—in addition to reaching the final on five other occasions. Just like in 2024, Djokovic has decided not to attend Cincinnati to take a longer rest before arriving in Flushing Meadows.

There were no signs of a possible injury to Djokovic, and everything seems to indicate that he is following the pattern of previous seasons, in which he skipped Canada and Cincinnati to arrive in top form at the US Open. The Serb last played the tournament in 2023, winning the title in an epic final against Carlos Alcaraz, shortly before winning the US Open title weeks later.

Nole won the Cincinnati title in 2018, 2020, and 2023. In his last four appearances, he only failed in 2021, falling to the eventual champion Daniil Medvedev in the semifinals. Nole remains the second player with the most victories in Cincinnati, only behind Roger Federer's 47, although the Serb won the title seven times, three of them beating Djokovic in the final.

A few weeks ago, it was confirmed that Djokovic would skip the Canadian Open, joining others like Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner who chose to take a longer rest in the middle of the demanding season, in addition to avoiding a too-early trip to North America at a very challenging time of the year, especially for European players.

Both Alcaraz and Sinner will attend Cincinnati, but the 38-year-old star opted to skip it. This indicates that Djokovic will return to the court at the US Open in late August, which would mean not playing any previous tournaments on hardcourts.

It cannot be ruled out that Nole will look for a wildcard in the week before the US Open, just as he did before Roland Garros. After an early loss in Madrid and a withdrawal from Rome, he received a last-minute wildcard for the Geneva Open—in the week before Roland Garros—and ended up winning the title, which gave him a better match rhythm before going to fight for another major. In fact, the Serb managed to win his 100th title there, ending a year-long title drought, and began a nine-match winning streak until the French Open semifinals, where he fell to Jannik Sinner.

Considering that there are no signs of a Djokovic injury, it remains to be seen whether he decides to replicate the formula—avoiding major tournaments and playing a smaller one to get into a rhythm—or if he will simply arrive at the US Open as his first tournament after Wimbledon. The Serb does not give up in the fight to seek his 25th Grand Slam title, and his physicality has complicated him in his last Grand Slam appearances, where he admitted that he has arrived with an "empty tank" in the final rounds.

Novak Djokovic's absence joins a significant number of other notable players who have withdrawn from the tournament. Jack Draper will be recovering from an injury hoping to arrive at the US Open in good form, the same situation as Alexander Bublik and Matteo Berrettini. Other names that have already confirmed their absence include Sebastian Korda, Jenson Brooksby, Hubert Hurkacz, and Grigor Dimitrov.