Singles draw for the Western & Southern Open was made on Thursday.
The 2020 Cincinnati Masters event is the first tournament to be played since the ATP Tour was suspended in early March. It will take place at Flushing Meadows (August 22-28).
Novak is a top seed and has a first round BYE. He will open campaign against Ricardas Berankis (LTU, ATP #72, Q) on Monday.
Nole’s potential rivals in the later stages of the tournament are:
3rd round: Felix Auger-Aliassime (FRA, 15), Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO)
Quarter-finals: David Goffin (BEL, 7), Denis Shapovalov (CAN, 15), Marin Cilic (CRO), Borna Coric (CRO), Benoit Paire (FRA)
Semi-finals: Daniil Medvedev (RUS, 3), Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP, 8), Karen Khachanov (RUS, 11), Cristian Garin (CHI, 13), Richard Gasquet (FRA)
Finals: Dominic Thiem (AUT, 2), Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE, 4), Alexander Zverev (GER, 5), Matteoo Berrettini (ITA, 6), Diego Schwartzman (ARG, 9), Andrey Rublev (RUS, 10), Grigor Dimitrov (BUL, 14), John Isner (USA, 16), Andy Murray (GBR, WC)…
After five runner-up finishes in Cincinnati, Novak claimed the historic crown in 2018 to become the first singles player to achieve Career Golden Masters.
In 2019, Djokovic suffered a 6-3, 3-6, 3-6 semi-final loss to Daniil Medvedev who went on to win the title.
The event will be followed by the US Open (August 31-September 13).
Both tournaments will be played at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center without fans in attendance.
Photo: Peter Staples, ATP Tour
