The main draw for the 2017 Cincinnati Masters (Western & Southern Open) was performed today.
Rafael Nadal, the No. 1 seed and current world No. 2, was the tournament winner in Cincinnati in 2013.
Following the first round bye, Rafa will open up against Richard Gasquet or a qualifier in the second round, with possible matchups against No. 16 seed Gilles Muller in the third round and No. 8 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals.
Rafa’s potential route to the final:
- First round: Bye
- Second round: Richard Gasquet
- Third round: Gilles Muller
- Quarter-final: Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or David Goffin
- Semi-final: Dominic Thiem
- Final: Roger Federer
If the men play to seed the quarter-final line up will be:
- Rafael Nadal vs. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
- Dominic Thiem vs. Kei Nishikori
- Alexander Zverev vs. Milos Raonic
- Roger Federer vs Grigor Dimitrov
Rafa and Roger Federer will bid to take over No. 1 in the ATP Rankings. If Roger wins the Rogers Cup title, he will become No. 1 on August 21 with an equal-or-better finish than Rafa in Cincinnati.
Good luck Rafa! VAMOS!!
RAFARAFARAFARAFARAFARAFA👑👑👑👑💪💪💪👍👌💙💚💛😉
I might be in minority here. But I don’t care for the No1 ranking. It’s only temporary and it puts too much pressure on the holder, especially now that Rafa has just admitted once again about his nerve.
I only care that Rafa plays well and stays healthy. And if somehow he can play more freely I will be very happy. I’m fine with him losing a match or a title *playing well*, really. And if Fed gets the No1 ranking or takes it away from Rafa, it means he totally deserves it and we should only congratulate him. He’s making history again. He loves the game just as much as Rafa does and I think in a few years many Rafa fans will come to appreciate this Fedal year more.
Fed might be lucky this year but many of those things we call luck come from how he handles things, how he takes his chances. Let’s be fair, Rafa had his chances too and will still do. It’s up to him to take them or not and I hope winning or losing, at the end of the day he doesn’t have any regrets.
Rafa had an off day against the 18 year old upstart Denis and paid a high price for it, but that doesn’t mean that will happen again the next time they meet. Once Rafa has gotten a feel of an opponent, he will solve the puzzle of how to beat them on their next go around. Yes he did not play with the offense intensity that he has exhibited this year, but he has made history at the French Open and that takes a lot out of you, so coming back to perform well on hard court was not a smooth transition this year, but I still believe he will find his groove in Cincy and will be well prepared for the hard courts of the US Open. I believe he has a very excellent chance to add a 3rd US Open to his trophy case. Vamos Rafa! Just do it !!!!!!!!!
I also agree that Rafa has had the tougher draws all year but all opponents can be tough at different times. Everyone can have an off day as we just saw with Rafa and Roger played bad the other day too. So let’s just encourage the two best players out there to keep up the good work. I have been watching Rafa since he was 16 on tv and I had tickets to Miami this year and cancelled for surgery. I then had tickets to Cincinatti since I live in Michigan and Now I am having a Second surgery so I can’t come and the U.S open is too expensive so next year I guess. I would love to see him live just once. So see things happen. Rafa you are playing like a teenager. Go get that number one spot back! I will be watching from home on the tennis channel. Much love and respect for you. 😘❤️
I’m sorry to hear about your surgeries and appreciate your still taking time to comment here, Deborah. Wish you a successful surgery and speedy recovery. Stay strong and you will watch Rafa next year. 🍀🍀
I get so tired of the negative comments. Rafa played an 18 year old kid he had not played before. The kid is good. Theim is good and he beat Rafa in Rome and Rafa came back and ate him up at Roland Garros. Rafa has played fifty five matches this year and Roger 36 matches. You did not see Roger on Clay. He said he can’t beat Rafa on Clay. He hoped Rafa was going to get number one in Montreal. Those two support each other. I say study the matches like these young guns study yours and you will see. This young kid played like Rafa except he can’t play at the net. These guys are older and still bidding for number one and two in the world. Come on Rafa you have been playing like you are twenty. Don’t get down on yourself it was one match. 😘❤️
Well once again Rafa got the tougher draw, in terms of more dangerous upset makers in his half. Fed has AZ in his half this time who seems to be the only threat, we’ll see how he does in MOntreal if they meet in the final (and it’s extremely likely). AZ totally collapsed against Fed in Halle and I lost some faith in him at that point, as far as Fed was concerned. He seems too wowed by Fed.
Thiem and Kygios and Raonic–all in Rafa’s half, aren’t playing well at the moment, so that’s a releif.
When we looked at the MOntreal draw and started worrying for Rafa–it was all about Isner and Delpo and AZ. No-one even mentioned Shap.
It’s hard to feel optimistic about Rafa on HC at this moment, and Fed keeps coasting through easy draws, having bad days but not running into the one who can take him down on those days. He seems to be protected by the tennis gods whereas Rafa seems destined to suffer. It has always felt like this to me and it’s one of the many many reasons I prefer Rafa.
Sooner or later Fed’s body is going to show the wear again. He is way more likely to go to #1 than Rafa at this point, unless AZ upsets him the final, and Rafa goes considerably further than Fed in Cincy.
But the USO is the one that really matters, and the one that will spread the points in a more definitive way.
Rafalite, for some reasons I always prefer the “underdogs” as well and appreciate them more, not the “destined/chosen” ones by the majority of scholars, pundits, establishment and media or fans. Like Beethoven over Mozart, Sarah Vaughan over Ella Fitzgerald, Paul McCartney over John Lennon, Newton over Einstein ect. and of course Rafa over Fed :p.
I think at this point there’s nothing we can do but try to relax and stay optimistic. What will come will come. We will “deal” with it when it happens or we won’t have to deal as much as we thought :).
Wow–I am gobsmaked Ranier, you have made the kind of comparisons I used to make about Rafa on another website, one filled with great lovers of the arts, and I made the similar analogies, except I aligned certain ones with Rafa and others with Fed, not in terms of perceived greatness (because it’s hard enough in tennis, to establish, people will fight forever in the arts to no avail,) but in terms of the spirit and quality of feeling …
Rafa over Fed
Suffering over ease
Sweating over no sweating
Beethoven over Mozart,
Billie Holiday over Ella (though i think Sarah trumps her too, though Sarah has some of Fed’s virtuosity, whereas Billie is all soul)
The Smiths over the Beatles
Edith Wharton over jane Austen
I think the perfect analogy for Rafa/ Fed is Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire. If tennis players were dancers …. Both two alltime greats, so different.
I’m not really sweating for Rafa at the moment. As you may realize, Denis is already a new favourite of mine. (This was already true a year ago when he beat Kyrgios) I see many have predicted he will beat Sasha, which starts in a few minutes. My nightmare is he beats Sasha, then Is totally depleted after (he should already be totally depleted!) and Fed creams him, and everyone starts GOATing anew about how only Fed could handle him, when in reality he got emptied out by Delp Rafa Zverev.
That would bother me more than any loss of Rafa’s at this point.
I prefer Rafa lost to Denis than Fed. truly.
Jeez, McCartney over Lennon??? Holy smackers. If you want to compare Nadal / Fed to McCartney / Lennon, Rafa is definitely closer to Lennon. McCartney, just like Fed, is the mass market, non controversial one. Lennon, just like Nadal, was less about quantity (80% of what McCartney made is non relevant musac), but when he made a real effort, his accomplishments outshined those of Paul easily. Among Rafa’s 15 majors are so many more legendary than there are among Roger’s 19. A lot of insignificant wins against nobody’s in those 19.
Jason, you know, there might be some excuse like there are no wrong or right opinions. But yours is definitely a disrespectful one to everyone.
Hi Rafalite, such a nice coincidence :). I guess we are kindred spirits in some way.
Actually what made me prefer the “underdogs”, first and foremost, were their products, their talents, their game etc. Even if Beethoven hadn’t suffered like he did, I still prefer him over Mozart. The same with Rafa. I just simply love his game more, though my game and mindset are actually like Fed :p. When Rafa is on full flight and “shows off” his offensive prowess, he’s the best that I’ve ever seen and I doubt I will see something that like, someone like him ever again in my life.
Of course then came the person, the “suffering”, the mistakes, the “imperfection” the will, the dignity, the humanity, the happiness… All of which made me appreciate them more. Yep, I like to get to know the person behind the product, the talent, the art, the game…
Okay, so Zverev’s just won the first set in the final. Nothing surprising. Fed hasn’t been playing well all week and he just doesn’t like the conditions there like he said while Zverev is something else in finals. Sorry Rafalite but I knew Shap didn’t have a chance against Zverev yesterday, even though he must be quite tired by now playing 2 full tourneys back to back and had less time to rest between the semis and final.
I’m actually watching the final now so we will talk bout Shap later. 🙂
Yes to your final paragraph is your last reply to me, my feelings to a tee.
I can’t resist tellling you, I was trained as a classical pianist, did a degree in classical music, and wrote music articles in my younger decades.
Music is central to my life and Beethoven is by far my favourite composer.
But he is also a GOAT, aside from that.
Beatles are GOATS too, as far as a band is concerned, but not my favourites.
Murray is definitely Ringo, don’t you think?
Djok is Harrison.
So glad Fed lost today. I’m GLOATing, but so what? I need to.
Wow, it’s so nice to here about your music background, Rafalite. Music people are my favourite people and Beethoven by far is my favourite composer of all time as well. I also write music a bit but mostly for violin as it is my favourite instrument, then cello, guitar and piano. Are you still a pianist or in the classical music world now or did you change your job?
Oh, and do you like Prokofiev?
What else can be said that hasn’t been said about Rafa’s hard court performance so far? Not much. He’s too afraid to come out of his comfort zone. For years, Rafa hasn’t needed to change anything as the old formula has worked, and it still does on clay but it’s a different story on hard courts where the conqueror of most has become the conquered by many! It’s both frustrating and painful to see this happening.
The one consolation that Rafa (and I ) can take from the loss to Shapovalov, is that the youngster went on to beat Mannarino, so he’s definitely the real deal.
Federer becoming no.1 before Rafa is not a foregone conclusion but it’s looking that way. Rafa has to come into Cincinnati with fresh eyes and a new perspective on things, but I fear that the Montreal defeat will still be in his head. On the other hand, maybe Cinci coming so quickly after won’t give Rafa much time to linger on his poor performance. Who knows? I’m not sure whether my own nerves will hold out if I watch him play next week, but I’m hoping and praying for a better from him.
Your nerves will hold out Lorna:):)
There was a time when Federer went through his own slump and a lot of pundits said he was done, he should just retire to avoid embarrassment. Federer kept at it, and look who’s the Domination Machine now… It’s all about that self belief.
Back to Rafa- As long as Rafa shows up on a tennis court, I’ll be very happy to support him. It hurts of course when he loses, but I’ll ‘forgive’ him for those because of all the wonderful memories he’s given me over the years.
Get it done in Cincy Rafa! You did it in 2013, you can do it again; All the best champ!!
Agree with all you write about Rafa.
Re Shap going on the beat Mannarino–yuo realize how rare it for players to be beat the next opponent after beating Rafa? Other than Djok or Fed, no-one seems to do it.
Keeping in mind Shap beat Delpo before Rafa, the acheivement of the 18 year old becomes even more impressive.
No. 1 ranking, of course is prestigious but doesn’t last forever. It’s just on loan to that particular player at the time. Even if Roger lands No 1 ranking he’ll have tons of points to defend next year. Novak was so ahead of the field he couldn’t possibly defend all those points.
Both players have been there and that opportunity will be there for both but at 36 Roger has
a limited window. Maybe the tennis gods just want Roger to go out with a bang on top.
I honestly don’t see him defending all those points from 2017 in 2018. So please let’s not get ahead of ourselves. There’s still a lot of tennis to be played. One loss shouldn’t define Rafa’s spectacular 2017 season. Besides Roger lost in the 1st round of his first grass court
tournament to Tommy Haas. That didn’t seem to negatively impact him for the rest of the season. I’m just trying to put things in perspective. Plus Roger took off the entire clay court season. Rafa has played all season long. It’s almost a double standard in tennis so Roger
can game every advantage.
It’s so unfair to count Rafa out. Here we go again with the negative comments. It’s just cruel. Rafa never backs down. Roger is rather fortunate to play the usual suspects in his draws where he knows their patterns. He’s never given an unpredictable draw or a monkeywrench opponent where he doesn’t know their patterns.. I never compare Rafa and Roger. They both have their own significant style. To be honest I don’t marvel at Roger’s super efficient one and done style of play but it gets the job done. I always find Rafa’s matches so much more exciting and thrilling with his passion. But that’s my opinion. I never count Rafa out.. He’s amazing. Wish him all the best in Cincinatti!
lets not personally insult the champ that is unfair and unjust. Rafa had a great season so far and he won a grandslam. But the past has shown that he doesnt do really well in second half of the season. Unneccesary loses against federer in australia, querry in acapulco and muller at wimbeldon and the canadian kid in montreal.
Now things can change of course in new york. I am worried about his mental strength and nerves. Against muller in london his nerves were bothering him and he couldnt convert the many breakpoints he had against the canadian kid same problem. His loss against the canadian kid was also because of the oppurtinity for him to catch the nr 1 spot.
This is why i dont see him winning in new york like i thougth after la decima. At the us open the deciding set will be played in a tiebreak. And Rafa has shown that when it gets tense in a match he doesnt produce his best tennis.
I dont expect anything from rafa in cincinnati. That is federer territory he won there 7 times and the court is fast that doesnt rafa game.
Lets see what happens. I do hope that moya will be in his box in new york the entire 2 weeks he needs carlos more then ever.
I think you hit the nail on the head mjus. ‘Rafa doesn’t do really well in second half of the season’. From this perspective, we can see this loss is relatively normal. This is because historically he has been tired from a dominant clay season. Grass and hard courts play more similar to each other, clay vastly different. Rafa has to make a massive transition time and time again. It is extremely difficult and will become more difficult the older he gets. The reverse is also true, Roger, Novak etc have struggled to obtain one French Open (Roger lost 6 FO even before Rafa came onto the scene).
Rafa lost his chances to become the new world num 1. He will remain n2 for the rest of the season.
It is just question of time for Roger as he will win the Rogers cup and takes the lead of the race. The real thing is from both he deserve it more than Rafa due to his results.
And the way things goes, he will be unstoppable…
Rafa is done! Nothing more to expect for the rest of the season unfortunately. The best n2 of the history. Not bad at the end.
ja,
who cares about nr 1. The pundits will remember you for your grandslams not being nr 1
Calm down dear, Rafa is definitely not done. Rafa will be done when Rafa says he’s done. Until then, I shall believe in his fighting spirit and despite these losses, he will be back like the Terminator.
People like you are pathetic. They think they know it all. How many times Roger and Rafa have been counted out and they were proved wrong. Rafa lost the match in Montreal. The kid didn’t win it. All mental. But people like you are so short sighted to give an opinion based on the last match only. If the player wins, he is great, if the player looses, he is terrible. So simplistic! They show they have a very limited mind.
VAMOS RAFA! You are unique in every sense!!
Rafa still has a good chance of obtaining the number 1 ranking in the world. Do you think he will just lay down and let Roger grab it from him? I don’t think so. You say Roger is the best #2 in history? Well it just so happens that he accomplished more, winning 2 gold medals for Singles and Doubles whereas Roger never won it for Singles. He is the youngest Golden Slam Champion and he earned it by beating both Novak and Roger at all their great tournaments. Beating Novak at Olympics on the way to Gold. Beating Roger at both Australian and Wimbledon. Neither Novak nor Roger earned their career slams by beating Rafa at his best tournament the French Open. Rafa accomplished it the BEST and MOST DIFFICULT way! Vamos!!!
Well, the “easy” draw didn”t work, we can only hope that this difficult one will.
And Jason, you are certainly showing what a “man” you are with your snarky comment. Easier on a computer than on a tennis court…There are many sites that applaud such behavior.
Good luck sweet Rafa – go do your very bestest 🎾💪🏼😃 VAMOOSS!! Go claim that no.1 spot 🥇🍀😘
At this stage it is unfortunately not a question who wins this battle, as Rafa goes on p#ssy mode again at a time when he should man up 100%.
Rafa has manned up for 15 years on the world stage to become the greatest competitor the world has ever seen. Jason, you really need to stop insulting Rafa on such a personal level. It is extremely nasty, unjust and tells us more about you than it does him.
Totally disrespectful comment, Jason 😠👎🏻
Nah it is all in the eye of the beholder. My comment reflects a lot of the comments that are spoken by many fans around the world, sitting and watching in agony when Nadal goes in self destruct modus. A forum is the perfect channel to speak out. You, the politically correct, know so well what is right and wrong, but your lot is a dying breed thank goodness.
After the fantastic epic record breaking event that he had at the French Open, he is allowed to have an off day. He has not had many of them this year so what’s the problem? He will learn from this loss to this kid Denis and won’t let it happen again next time. This will make him even more motivated to do well next week in Cincy, preparing himself to get that 16th Grand Slam at the US Open commencing later this month. Don’t give up on Rafa. EVER! Vamos!!!!!!!
Jason, it’s nothing to do with being politically correct. It’s about respect for a great champion. Insulting Rafa is not speaking out. It is not giving an opinion. Your comments have no intelligent perspective whatsoever and are ridiculously short-sighted. Rafa is who he is. He is one of the greatest of all time. He has to fade at some time just as Bolt lost his last race today. He may do this slowly, he may do this quickly but this does not undermine the man or diminish his many achievements. Your comments do not reflect those of fans with perspective but probably reflect those of low intelligence, haters masquerading as fans, attention seekers and the extremely young. Referring to a people as ‘your lot’ and a ‘dying breed’ based on a comment disagreeing with your nasty putdowns is staggeringly stupid.
Nah, there is plenty of respect in the fact that I want him to win.
I would dearly love it to be Rafa. But in the scheme off things it will be Roger who is riding high on confidence and has dedicated himself (very wisely) to grass/hard this year.
Sorry, yet another dreadful spelling mistake ‘scheme of things’
Number 1 for rafa 👑👑👑👑👑VAMOS RAFA 💪💪💪👍👍👍👍👍👌💚💛😉bonne chance champion
Best antidote for a loss is a win😜, so bring it on. Every draw can be tough, so
why belabour it? Believe and fight😠The will to win cannot be denied as we have
seen Rafael power back in the past. 🍀🎾💕
Good luck and Vamos Rafa <3
Rafa I truly endorse the sentiments above,
and you are a real true CHAMP THROUGH AND THROUGH.
ALL the best for Cincinnati,
Love and prayers,
AlaineXXSydneyXXAustraliaXX
Hope you have a fairer draw this time I will always support you and think that you will be no1think positive go rafa
Rafa you will WIN just remember to focus and attack the other player’s weakness. One point at a time. Always have fun but concentrate on the point and you will be a Winner and Number 1 again. You make Tennis so enjoyable to watch I thank you for that. I can’t wait to see you play at the Open.. Good luck Rafa although you really don’t need it. you are AMAZING