Carnage predicted at Cincinnati Open as Novak Djokovic drawn with other superstars

The main draw at the 125th edition of the men's tournament in Cincinnati will get underway on Thursday, 13 August, and conclude with the singles final on Sunday, 23 August.

The Masters 1000 tournament, which is a prominent stop during the North American hard-court season, is staged at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio.

Carlos Alcaraz won the 2025 Cincinnati Open, but he is one of eight men who withdrew before this year's event, with world No 1 Jannik Sinner also absent.

The Cincinnati draw features 96 players, including 32 seeds who receive an opening round bye. The top eight seeds are: Alexander Zverev (1), Felix Auger-Aliassime (2), Novak Djokovic (3), Daniil Medvedev (4), Alex de Minaur (5), Taylor Fritz (6), Flavio Cobolli (7) and Ben Shelton (8).

In the absence of Sinner and Alcaraz, world No 3 Zverev is the top seed in Cincinnati, and he will face either Cameron Norrie or Dino Prizmic in his opening match.

The French Open champion could then meet Tomas Martin Etcheverry in the third round, while Valentin Vacherot and Tommy Paul are potential fourth-round opponents.

In the quarter-finals, Zverev is projected to face either seventh seed Cobolli in a rematch of the Roland Garros final or 12th seed Jodar - who is in sensational form

Third seed Djokovic will begin his campaign against either Thiago Agustin Tirante or Jan Choinski, before a possible third-round meeting with Matteo Arnaldi, Jack Draper or Martin Landaluce.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner could take on either Jakub Mensik or Luciano Darderi in the last 16, while fifth seed Alex de Minaur and ninth seed Jiri Lehecka are potential quarter-final opponents.

In the bottom half, the projected quarter-finals based on seeding would see Fritz taking on Medvedev and Shelton facing Auger-Aliassime.

READ MORE: Teenage sensation Rafael Jodar through to maiden Masters 1000 semifinal in Canada