Novak Djokovic makes winning return to US in Cincinnati Open

Novak Djokovic enojyed a comfortable first singles match victory in the US since 2021 beating Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Wednesday in the Western amp Southern Open after the Spaniard retired early in the second set with a lower back injuryThe secondranked Djokovic won the first set 64 then two points into the second set Davidovich Fokina hunched over in pain following his return and ended the match after 46 minutesldquoKind of a mixed emotions tonightrdquo Djokovic said ldquoReally like Alejandro Get along really well off the court We train with each other while in Spain He told me he has a lower back issue that appeared yesterday Itrsquos unfortunaterdquoDjokovic 36 lost in doubles on Tuesday in his return to the country after missing events because of COVID19 vaccine restrictions Itrsquos his first appearance in Cincinnati since 2019 The 2020 Western amp Southern Open was played in New York due to COVID19It was Djokovicrsquos first singles match since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final The winner of a menrsquosrecord 23 Grand Slam singles titles Djokovic will face Frenchman Gael Monfils who is 018 lifetime against him on ThursdayldquoObviously playing one set is better than not playing or losingrdquo Djokovic said ldquoI have another chance tomorrow Kind of shaking off the rustrdquoTopranked Iga Swiatek has never reached the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati tournament but she had an encouraging start to the week beating American qualifier Danielle Collins 61 60ldquoLast year I didnrsquot feel confident in Cincinnati so itrsquos big progress for merdquo Swiatek said ldquoI feel like itrsquos going to give me a lot of confidence Irsquom happy that I can play better tennis here this yearrdquoAlso Read Novak Djokovic bags first win in US return in Cincinnati OpenSwiatek will face Zheng Qinwen in the fourth round after the Chinese professional rallied to defeat 43yearold Venus Williams 16 62 61 on WednesdayThe biggest upset on the womenrsquos side Wednesday was 18yearold Linda Noskova stunning ninthranked Petra Kvitova 36 62 64 Kvitova reached the final last year in CincinnatiNo 4 Elena Rybakina defeated Jelena Ostapenko 67 6 62 64 in a match that took 2 hours 17 minutesFourthranked Stefanos Tsitsipas who has lost in the semifinals in Cincinnati three straight years got past American Ben Shelton in straight sets 76 3 76 2ldquoWith players like this they really have nothing to loserdquo Tsitsipas said ldquoHersquos still spiritually free on the court Hersquos playing the game careless just like I did when I first startedrdquoIt was a good day for AmericansNo 3seeded Jessica Pegula staved off an upset bid from qualifier Martina Trevisan to win 67 2 62 63 Coco Gauff seeded seventh downed Mayar Sherif 62 62 at nightThe Masters 1000 tournament has been played in Cincinnati since 1899 and is the oldest pro tournament still in the same city Its future is in doubt with a possible move to Charlotte North Carolina in 2026With agency inputs