STARNBERG, August 14, 2023

The North American hard-court summer continues at a breaktaking pace as Cincinnati this week plays host to the Western & Southern Open.

Carlos Alcaraz is the top seed at the seventh ATP Masters 1000 event of the season, with the Spaniard needing to reach the final to guarantee his stay atop the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. His World No. 1-chasing rival Novak Djokovic of Serbia is seeded second and will hope to capitalize with a strong run on his first Western & Southern Open appearance since 2020. Daniil Medvedev from Russia, Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece and Norwegian Casper Ruud round out the top five seeds.

Fifteenth seed Borna Coric from Croatia is the defending champion in Ohio. The then-World No. 152 became the lowest-ranked Masters 1000 champion with his triumph a year ago. Coric could face Tsitsipas in the third round in a rematch of the 2022 final, but his first task is a tough opener against US-American Sebastian Korda. Hopes for a first home winner since 2006 are led by ninth-seeded Taylor Fritz and his and 10th seed Frances Tiafoe.

🚨🚨 THE @atptour #CINCYTENNIS MAIN DRAW IS OUT 🚨🚨 pic.twitter.com/ikQaEZAkXa

— Western & Southern Open (@CincyTennis) August 12, 2023