Mark Petchey Thinks Canadian Open Should Offer Guarantees to Lure Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic After Their Withdrawals

Novak Djokovic and Jannik Sinner withdrew from the Canadian Open. Djokovic’s withdrawal was already anticipated because, since losing in the third round here back in 2018, he hasn’t played in the tournament.

But Sinner’s decision shocked many because he had a chance to bid for the Golden Masters, given that he won titles in Indian Wells, Miami, Madrid, Monte Carlo, and Rome. His win in his home event made him the second man after the Serb to achieve the Career Golden Masters milestone.

But after these five wins, Sinner suffered cramps during the second round of the French Open, which saw him lose the match in a dramatic fashion as he was on the cusp of defeating Juan Manuel Cerundolo. So this time, he chose to recharge his batteries before the US Open, instead of chasing records.

Many have blamed the ATP calendar for this. Last year, the ATP turned both the Canadian and Cincinnati Masters 1000s into 12-day events. Previously, they used to be one-week Masters 1000s.

Because of the change in format, the players making deep runs at Wimbledon are expected to skip the Canadian event in the future. There’s, however, one solution to make the top players participate in Canada: lure them with a guarantee, said Mark Petchey, the former coach of Emma Raducanu and Andy Murray.

I honestly think the only fix for Canada on the ATP side is again to make a kind of separate rule for them, so that they can entice the top players with a guarantee. Which obviously they can’t pay guarantees at the thousand level because the bonus pool has been put in there to try and protect the tournaments.

Mark Petchey said on The Big T Podcast

But Sam Querrey and Steve Johnson, on the Nothing Major podcast, claimed the tournament, instead of having Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Djokovic, would “rather take 12 days of TV rights“.

It’s not really for the players. It’s to protect the tournament so they don’t have to pay out more money if the top players don’t play. But I’m almost of the opinion that Canada feels as though it’s going to be a difficult child syndrome for the ATP. And if you’re going to try and help them, you almost have to loosen the purse strings.

Mark Petchey added

Alcaraz’s withdrawal was already anticipated because of his wrist injury. But he will be making his comeback in Cincinnati.

Novak Djokovic will play at the Cincinnati Masters

Because Novak Djokovic had skipped both the warm-up Masters 1000s before the US Open since winning in Cincinnati in 2023, many thought he would be skipping both this season as well. But Djokovic took to his Instagram story and announced his decision to play in Cincinnati, where he is a three-time champion (and also lost five finals).

Hello everyone, I’m happy to announce that I’m coming to [the] Cincinnati Open this year. First time since 2023, when I played one of the best best-of-three finals of the Masters 1000 event in my career. I can’t wait to come back and perform in front of all of you.

The Cincinnati Masters will be Djokovic’s sixth tournament of the season. Apart from the first three Grand Slam tournaments, he played in Indian Wells and the Italian Open.

At the Australian Open, the 39-year-old, following his five-set win over Jannik Sinner, lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the final. In Paris, his campaign ended in the third round with a five-set defeat to Joao Fonseca. At Wimbledon, Sinner breezed past him in the semifinals. The main draw of the Cincinnati Masters will start on August 13. Alcaraz will play as the defending champion.

Also read: Carlos Alcaraz Shocks Fans With Bold Braided Hairstyle Ahead of Potential Comeback