Cincinnati Masters preview

There is no question that Rafael Nadal is the top player in men’s tennis today. He has already won seven tournaments this year including the two grand slams (the French Open and Wimbledon) and three Masters Series (Monte Carlo, Hamburg, Toronto). That’s more than twice anyone else has achieved. He is also on a 29-match winning streak since May. Still, he is only just the no. 2 player in the world. But that could very well change this week.

For 234 consecutive weeks, Roger Federer has been the world no.1 and the dominant force in the ATP tour. This year, he has only managed to win two ‘small’ titles in Estoril and Halle. He has also yet to win any grand slam for the first time since 2002. His performance has been inconsistent losing surprisingly to the likes of Mardy Fish, Radek and Stepanek. The Swiss clearly struggled during the early part of the season due to mononucleosis but he is said to have recovered. His performance at the All-England Club especially fighting back from a 2-0 set lead to force a fifth set in the final against Nadal has signaled that Federer is back on form and ready to fight for his no. 1 status. However, in his first match since Wimbledon at the Rogers Masters Toronto, he lost to Gilles Simon recording an alarmingly high number of unforced errors especially to his forehand. He is now just 300 points ahead of Nadal.

Don’t count out Novak Djokovic just yet. Following his second round loss to Marat Safin at Wimbledon, people have shifted their focus only to the top 2. The Serb still deserves some attention though. In the Hamburg semifinal against Nadal, had Djokovic won, he would have overtaken the Spaniard for the no. 2 ranking. He is also the Australian Open champion and winner of two Masters Series titles. In the Toronto Masters, he had a chance to redeem himself especially as he was the defending champion. In his quarterfinal match against Andy Murray, the Serb had a shaky performance and seemed unusually low in confidence. He lost in straight sets.

Nadal is on course to clinch the world no. 1 ranking. His impressive win-loss record 61-7 has much to do with it. Meanwhile, Federer and Djokovic just made it easier for him after their early losses at Toronto. While both haven’t really played terribly, they seem to be missing an intangible but crucial factor in their game – confidence. While Nadal is beaming with confidence, Federer and Djokovic appear defeated, unable to respond to the challenge of the Spaniard. This week at the Western & Southern Financial Group Masters Cincinnati, it’s crunch time for them. Federer has to bounce back from his surprise second round loss and make Nadal work even harder for the no. 1 spot that he has long occupied. He is the defending champion of the tournament and losing early would also mean losing a ton of points. Djokovic has to prove that there is a top 3 in the ATP and cement his billing as the best hard court player in the game.

Check out the draw for the Cincinnati Masters here.