Jannik Sinner remains the top-ranked ATP player in the world, as he continues to rack up points and trophies this season. After winning the Australian Open last January and Wimbledon last June, the next challenge for the young Italian is to win his first career Cincinnati Masters title this August.
The pre-tournament Cincinnati Masters 2025 odds predict a deep run from the 23-year-old star, but that doesn’t mean he’ll face stiff competition in the ATP 1000 event. Some of his top seed opponents include Carlos Alcaraz, Alexander Zverev, Taylor Fritz, Ben Shelton, Holger Rune, and Lorenzo Mussetti. Novak Djokovic was initially part of the playing field, but the Serbian international recently confirmed his withdrawal.
Elsewhere, Ben Shelton has steadily risen in the ATP rankings, and the 22-year-old youngster aims to take the spotlight to make his countrymen in Cincinnati proud.
Check out the latest Cincinnati Masters 2025 updates, courtesy of SBOTOP.
Djokovic’s Cincy withdrawal draws major concern
As mentioned, Novak Djokovic has withdrawn from this year’s Cincinnati Masters due to non-medical reasons, drawing concerns from pundits because the event was intended to serve as a warm-up for the final Grand Slam of the season, the US Open. After losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semi-finals last month, the 38-year-old also did not play in the National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada.
As a result, Djokovic dropped to seventh in the updated ATP rankings with 4,130 points and was usurped by fifth-seeded Jack Draper and sixth-seeded Ben Shelton. His most recent title was the Geneva Open last May, but Djokovic’s last Grand Slam triumph came at the 2023 US Open, as he beat Daniil Medvedev in the final.
“You can’t count him out. The only thing that is worrying me is that I wish he would go to Cincinnati just go and play two or three matches,” Jimmy Connors said about Djokovic on his podcast.
“That is the only thing that worries me — that he left Wimbledon in the semis, which was a pretty good result, but he didn’t play in that match like he wanted to and lost in three straight. Then to take two and a half months off… But you never know,” he added.
Last year, Djokovic didn’t feature in Toronto or Cincinnati because he had taken a vacation after winning gold at the Paris Olympics. That affected him at the subsequent US Open, as he lost to Alexei Popyrin in the third round, marking the first time since 2017 that he failed to reach the fourth round of the Grand Slam.
Sinner makes pivotal coaching change
Jannik Sinner recently reappointed fitness coach Umberto Ferrara, with whom he parted ways after testing positive for clostebol and was banned from playing for three months in February.
Sinner tested positive for clostebol, which can increase muscle mass, after using an over-the-counter spray to treat a cut on his hand. Ferrari warned physiotherapist Giacomo Naldi not to use it on Sinner, but the latter still did, and here we are. After the departures of Ferrara and Naldi, Sinner hired fitness coach Marco Panichi and physiotherapist Ulises Badio, but he parted ways with them shortly before Wimbledon last July. Many believe that Sinner has forgiven Ferrara because the former felt that the latter had learned from his past mistake.
“Umberto has played an important role in Jannik’s development to date, and his return reflects a renewed focus on continuity and performance at the highest level,” a statement from Sinner’s team read.
“The decision has been made in alignment with Jannik’s management team as part of ongoing preparations for upcoming tournaments, including the Cincinnati Open and US Open,” the statement added.
Since returning at the Italian Open in May, Sinner reached three finals, winning one Grand Slam trophy. He lost back-to-back finals against Carlos Alcaraz in Italy and France, but redeemed himself in London.
Shelton hits impressive milestone ahead of Cincy
Ben Shelton improved to sixth in the ATP rankings after he won the National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada, yesterday, outlasting Karen Khachanov in a three-set thriller final. The 22-year-old became the youngest American to win a Masters 1000 title in over two decades. His run to the trophy also included impressive wins against Alex de Minaur and Taylor Fritz.
Shelton, who is 32-16 on the year, will open his Cincinnati Masters campaign against Camilo Ugo. He is gunning for another deep tournament run because he has his eyes on qualifying for the ATP Finals for the first time in his budding tennis career.
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