The Spanish Alexander Davidovich withdrew Wednesday due to back pain in his second round match against Cincinnati Masters 1,000 before the serb Novak Djokovic.
Davidovichwho left after 42 minutes of the match, lost the first set 6-4 and enough was said in the first game of the second set.
The man from Malaga needs to recover physically as much as possible to get the best possible US Openwhich begins with N.Y on August 28.
Davidovich he sought help from a physical therapist down 4-3 in the first set and went to the locker room for treatment.
However, upon his return to the court he was seen to be in obvious physical discomfort -especially when serving- and had mobility problems that led him to eventually lose the first set.
Davidovich tried desperately
Very serious in the break between sets and with clear signs of frustration, Davidovich tried desperately to re-engage in the match until he felt his back hurt again in the first game of the second set and finally decided to retire.
Number 23 in the world -his best ranking so far-, the Spaniard has gone through a great moment of form since last week when he was a semifinalist in the Masters 1,000 in Toronto.
Davidovich defeated Argentine Tomás Etcheverry (31) in the first round in Cincinnati on Tuesday clearly 6-3, 6-3 in one hour and 18 minutes.
The rivalry cannot be counted today, Davidovich has faced Djokovic four times with three wins for the Serb.
Djokovic’s first win in the United States since 2021
For his part, Djokovic, the world number 2, has not competed on American soil since losing the 2021 US Open final to Russian Daniil Medvedev.
The Serbian missed the last US Open and missed the last three North American Masters 1,000 tours (in the spring of 2022 and 2023 and the summer of 2022) because of his refusal to get vaccinated against the coronavirus.
The US government enforced the vaccination obligation for non-residents until last April.
Djokovic, who has not been particularly in tune with his tennis during the stretch in which Davidovich has been in good shape, will face Frenchman Gael Monfils in the round of 16 in Cincinnati, who defeated Australian of Spanish origin Álex Miñaur, recent finalist in Toronto, by 7 -5 and 6-4.
Source: La Verdad
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