Second of back-to-back Masters 1000s set to begin in Cincinnati

The National Bank Open in Montreal is has not yet concluded, but it’s not too early to start looking ahead to the second of back-to-back Masters 1000 tournaments.

The draw ceremony for the Western & Southern Open was held this weekend, officially marking Carlos Alcaraz’s return following his silver-medal effort at the Paris Olympics (lost to Novak Djokovic in the gold-medal match). With Djokovic having withdrawn from Cincinnati, Alcaraz is the No. 2 seed in Cincinnati behind Jannik Sinner. Other players with byes are Alexander Zverev, Daniil Medvedev, Hubert Hurkacz, Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud, and Grigor Dimitrov.

If the seeds hold to form, quarterfinal continests would be Sinner vs. Rublev, Zverev vs. Dimitrov, Medvedev vs. Hurkacz, and Alcaraz vs. Ruud.

Of course, it’s highly unlikely that such a script is followed. After all, the hard-court summer is always a busy stretch that naturally leads to fatigue and therefore plenty of surprising results. Add the Olympics into the mix this year and the summer of 2024 is especially grueling. Ruud withdrew from Montreal prior to the third round, Hurkacz is coming back from meniscus surgery and won’t have much rest following a quarterfinal performance in Montreal, and Alcaraz has not played a match on hard courts since Miami in March.

Opening-round showdowns to watch in Cincinnati are Stefanos Tsitsipas vs. Jan-Lennard Struff, Holger Rune vs. Matteo Berrettini, Ben Shelton vs. Reilly Opelka, Frances Tiafoe vs. Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, Taylor Fritz vs. Brandon Nakashima, and Karen Khachanov vs. Francisco Cerundolo.

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on Twitter at @Dimonator.