The Spaniard lost the first set 6-4 and decided to stop playing at the start of the second
He now has a little less than two weeks to recover before the US Open begins.
The Spanish Alexander Davidovich he retired this Wednesday due to back pain in his second round match of the Cincinnati Masters 1,000 against the Serbian Novak Djokovic. Davidovich, who left after 42 minutes of the match, lost the first set 6-4 and said enough in the first game of the second round. The man from Malaga will have to recover physically as much as he can to get as good as possible to the US Open, which begins in New York on August 28.
Davidovich requested the assistance of the physical therapist trailing 4-3 in the first set and went to the locker room for treatment. However, on his return to the track he was seen with obvious physical discomfort -especially when serving- and with mobility problems that led him to finally lose the first set. Very serious in the break between sets and with clear signs of frustration, Davidovich desperately tried to re-engage in the match until he felt another sharp pain in his back in the first game of the second set and finally opted to retire.
Number 23 in the world -his best ranking so far-, the Spaniard was going through a very good moment of form, since last week he was a semifinalist in the Masters 1,000 in Toronto. Davidovich had beaten Argentine Tomás Etcheverry (31) in the first round in Cincinnati on Tuesday by a clear 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 18 minutes. Not counting today’s duel, Davidovich had faced Djokovic four times with three wins for the Serb.
For his part, Djokovic, number 2 in the world, had not competed on American soil since the US Open final lost in 2021 against Russian Daniil Medvedev. The Serb was unable to play the last US Open and missed the last three North American Masters 1,000 tours (spring 2022 and 2023 and summer 2022). for his refusal to vaccinate against the coronavirus. The US government kept the vaccination obligation for non-residents in force until last April.
Djokovic, who was not particularly in tune with his tennis during the stretch in which Davidovich was physically well, will face Frenchman Gael Monfils in the round of 16 in Cincinnati, who beat Australian of Spanish origin Álex Miñaur, recent finalist in Toronto, by 7-5 and 6-4.