Djokovic gets retirement from Davidovich Fokina, will face Monfils in Cincinnati

Novak Djokovic reached the last 16 of the Western & Southern Open when Toronto semi-finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina retired from their second-round match on Wednesday night.

Djokovic took the first set 6-4 before the Spaniard called it quits with an apparent lower-back injury.

“it’s kind of mixed emotions tonight,” the 36-year-old Serb explained. “I really like Alejandro. We get along really well off the court. We train a lot with each other in Spain. He had a terrific week last week — played semifinals; played a lot of matches; played yesterday. He told me at the net it was a lower-back issue that appeared yesterday. So I think the amount of matches he’s played maybe in the last 10 days has taken the toll on his body. It’s unfortunate. I really hope he can recover and play well in New York.

“As far as I’m concerned, obviously playing one set is better than not playing or losing I guess. So I get another chance tomorrow. (I’m) kind of shaking off the rust tonight. I feel I can always play better. Hopefully as the tournament progresses I’ll raise my game.”

The 36-year-old Serb will play Frenchman Gael Monfils next.

Cincinnati Masters, other second-round results:

• Frances Tiafoe vs. Stan Wawrinka
• Alexei Popyrin vs. Nicolas Jarry
• Mackenzie McDonald (WC) beat Holger Rune (6): 6-4, 2-0 ret.
• Gael Monfils beat Alex De Minaur: 7-5, 6-4
• Stefanos Tsitsipas (4) beat Ben Shelton: 7-6 (3), 7-6 (2)
• Hubert Hurkacz beat Borna Coric (15): 5-7, 6-3, 6-3
• Max Purcell (Q) beat Casper Ruud (5): 6-4, 3-6, 6-4
• Taylor Fritz (9) beat Lorenzo Sonego: 6-4, 7-6 (1)
• Dusan Lajovic (Q) beat Jannik Sinner (8): 6-4, 7-6 (4)
• Daniil Medvedev (3) beat Lorenzo Musetti: 6-3, 6-2
• Alexander Zverev (16) beat Yoshihito Nishioka: 7-5, 6-4
• Tommy Paul (14) beat Ugo Humbert: 6-1, 7-6 (4)
• Carlos Alcaraz (1) beat Jordan Thompson (Q): 7-5, 4-6, 6-3
• Adrian Mannarino beat Felix Auger-Aliassime (12): 6-4, 6-4
• Emil Ruusuvuori beat Andrey Rublev (7): 7-6 (10), 5-7, 7-6 (3)

You might also like this

A month after the Wimbledon final, Djokovic insists he has moved on: “I got over it in a day”

tennis majors

Toronto: De Minaur races past Davidovich Fokina to reach first Masters 1000 final

tennis majors

Srdjan Djokovic: I hope that Novak will retire in a year-and-a-half

tennis majors