Cincinnati Masters 2023: Novak Djokovic wins first singles match as rival retires

Twenty-three-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic won the first singles match on Wednesday in the US since 2021. He beat Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the Cincinnati Masters 2023 when the Spaniard had to leave the court in the second set due to a groin injury.

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Second-ranked Djokovic won the first set 6-4 and led by two points in the second. Davidovich felt pain after this and the match was over in just 46 minutes. Now 48-1 in his opening rounds since the start of the 2019 season, Djokovic improved to 4-1 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head against Davidovich Fokina with his retirement. The Serbian will next bid to extend his perfect 18-0 tour-level record against Monfils in the Round of 16 of Cincinnati Masters 2023.

Djokovic could not play in America in the last two years due to not getting the Covid vaccine. He is playing here for the first time since 2019. The Western & Southern Open was played in New York in 2020.

Elsewhere, Australian qualifier Max Purcell beat third seed Casper Ruud in three sets. It was his first victory over a top-10 ranked player. Purcell, the world number 70, saved six out of seven break points to win 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 and set up a meeting with three-time Grand Slam winner Stan Wawrinka. The swiss former world number three continued his return to form with a 6-3 6-4 win over American 16th seed Frances Tiafoe.

On the other hand, Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev also moved into the last 16 of Cincinnati Masters 2023. He defeated Italy's Lorenzo Musetti with a score of 6-3, 6-2. Medvedev, who claimed the title in 2019 before going on to reach the US Open final, will face Germany's Alexander Zverev next.

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Meanwhile, in the women's section, top-ranked Iga Swiatek defeated American qualifier Danielle Collins 6-1, 6-0. She will now face Qinwen Zheng, who defeated 43-year-old Venus Williams 1-6, 6-2, 6-1. While 18-year-old Linda Nosková caused a major upset by defeating ninth-ranked Petra Kvitová 3-6, 6-2, 6-4. At the same time, fourth seed Elena Rybakina defeated Jeļena Ostapenko 6-7, 6-2, 6-4.