The Serbian star put in a hard first practice in Cincinnati on center court on Saturday night, drawing a large crowd to the stadium to see him work out.
Under the close supervision of coach Goran Ivanisevic, Djokovic put in a lot of effort while working out with teammate Carlos Gomez-Herrera in the hot Ohio weather. Djokovic worked on his baseline game with Gomez-Herrera before Ivanisevic entered the game to provide balls for more focused drills with the Serbian.
The 36-year-old will play in Cincinnati for the first time since 2019 when he reached the semi-finals, and he has a 40-12 record in this competition. Since the US Open in 2021, Djokovic hasn’t competed in a US tournament.
😃👋💪👏🙌🫶 @CincyTennis #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/zSKHpQ9f19
— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) August 13, 2023
Welcome back @djokernole to 🇺🇸!!
Welcome back to @CincyTennis 💪#NOLEFAM, let us know if you are going to Cincinnati this week to support Novak so you can be added to the group chat 😊
📹 @cincytennis#idemo #novakdjokovic #djokovic pic.twitter.com/dsDBoIWJth
— NovakDjokovicFanClub (@NovakFanClub) August 13, 2023
Novak Djokovic in 2023
LWWWLWLWWW Ranked no.2, Djokovic played his last contest on the 16th of July when he lost to world no.1 Carlos Alcaraz 1-6 7-6(6) 6-1 3-6 6-4 in the final in Wimbledon (draw).
This season the Serbian has achieved an overall 33-5 record. Novak clinched 3 titles in 2023 in Adelaide, Australian Open and French Open. Djokovic was the finalist in Wimbledon.
Djokovic has scheduled to compete next in Cincinnati (Western & Southern Open). He will start the tournament from the main draw that will commence on the 13th of August.
