5 storylines to follow this week at the 2023 Western & Southern Open
The Western & Southern Open's main draw began on Sunday following the weekend's qualifying rounds. This year's field includes 17 Grand Slam Champions, nine current or former World No. 1s and 10 past Western & Southern Open champions.
Here are some of the storylines to follow this week from the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
Men's, women's No. 1s up for grab
Carlos Alcaraz holds the No. 1 ranking heading into Cincinnati after winning a Grand Slam at Wimbledon and a Queen's Club title this summer, but he may not have it for long. Alcaraz was upset by American Tommy Paul in the Canadian Open on Friday and will need a run to the Western & Southern Open final to stay at No. 1.
There are a number of players at his heels, including No. 2 Novak Djokovic, who is back in Cincinnati for the first time since 2019. Djokovic won the 2020 Western & Southern Open when it was held in New York City and has not played in the United States since 2021 due to previous vaccine requirements for foreign travelers. Djokovic lost to Alcaraz in a five-set thriller for the Wimbledon title on July 16.
"You have to enjoy when the battle is against one of the legends from our sport," Alcaraz said about Djokovic Sunday. "The main goal is to stay in the top spot and if I lose, try to recover it as fast as I can."
No. 3 Daniil Medvedev lost to Alcaraz in the Wimbledon semifinals and fell in the quarterfinals Friday in the Canadian Open.
On the women's side, No. 1 Iga Swiatek lost in the Canadian Open's semifinals on Saturday after winning the Poland Open on July 30. She's been able to hold off No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka, who was upset in the Round of 16 in the Canadian Open.
Americans Jessica Pegula (No. 3) and Coco Gauff (No. 6) are in the mix, too. Pegula is in the Canadian Open final after upsetting top-seeded Swiatek on Saturday. Gauff, who lost to Pegula in the quarterfinals, won a Citi Open title earlier this month.
Will Western & Southern Open stay in Cincinnati?
Outside of the on-court product, there's the looming question if this year is the Western & Southern Open's final one in Mason. In June, Charlotte city council members voted to move forward with a $400 million tennis complex that would be the tournament's new home.
Several players commented on the possible move in Sunday's press conferences.
"I like the tournament in Cincinnati. A lot of great memories and I generally like the site," 2019 winner Daniil Medvedev said. "I love coming back here. If for whatever reason it moves, hopefully it can be a good tournament."
Caroline Wozniacki added: "The fans here love the tennis, they love the tournament; they always show up for the players, so it's been a great event. We'll see what the future brings."
Moms face off in WTA's 1st round
An interesting first-round nugget for Monday features former World No. 1s Caroline Wozniacki and Elina Svitolina. Both WTA stars welcomed children in October.
Svitolina won at Strasbourg in May, reached the quarterfinals in the French Open in June and made the Wimbledon semifinals last month. This will be Wozniacki's second event since giving birth after bowing out in the second round of the Canadian Open.
"She (Svitolina) has been playing really well," said Wozniacki, who made her Western & Southern debut in 2005 shortly after turning 15. "It's nice to see a lot of moms on tour playing well and showing you can do both."
Ons Jabeur returns following Wimbledon loss, injury
No. 5 Ons Jabeur is making her return after missing the Montreal tournament with a knee injury. Before that, she suffered what she called the "most painful loss of my career" when she came up short at Wimbledon for the second straight year. Jabeur is now 0-3 in Grand Slam finals with the two Wimbledon defeats and a runner-up finish at the 2022 U.S. Open.
"Maybe I don't see it fully right now, but I believe the loss at Wimbledon will make me stronger," Jabeur said Sunday. "The key is not to be afraid to go play another final. What if I lose another final? It's OK. I'm gonna go there, gonna fight and that's the spirit I'm going with."
Jabeur reached the Round of 16 at last year's Western & Southern Open.
No. 10 Marketa Vondrousova, who beat Jabeur at Wimbledon, said everything has changed since her unseeded run to a Grand Slam.
"The pressure is on. People expect you to win more matches and I'm not the underdog anymore," she said Sunday.
Tsitsipas was runner-up in last year's W&S Open
No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas, who turned 25 on Saturday, has been top 10 in the ATP Rankings since April 2019 and in the top 5 since October. He was runner-up to No. 15 Borna Coric in last year's Western & Southern Open but got his revenge in the semifinals of the Los Cabos Open with a win over Coric en route to a title.
Over the last three years, he's reached the Western & Southern Open semifinals twice and the finals last year. He'll look to finish the job this time around.
Caroline Garcia, who became the first qualifier in WTA 1000 history to win a Western & Southern Open title last year, is No. 6 in the women's field.
