2013 Western & Southern Open champion Rafael Nadal celebrates after defeating John Isner.
2013 Western & Southern Open champion Rafael Nadal celebrates after defeating John Isner.

By Chris Chaney
Sun staff

 

The best tennis players in the world are converging on the Greater Cincinnati Area once again this summer with all 20 of the top-10 men and women in the world participating in the Western & Southern Open at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason August 9-17, the tournament announced on July 14.

“To have every possible player at the top of the rankings of both Tours enter the Western & Southern Open shows the value these players place on this tournament,” said Tournament Director and COO Vince Cicero said in the statement. “We pride ourselves on giving the players the best possible tournament experience, and with their commitment to play here, it give us the chance to put on a tremendous event for our fans attending and the global viewing audience.”

On the men’s side, the Mason-hosted tournament will boast the Big Four — Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. The latter three represent the winners of the men’s event each of the past seven years with the former, Djokovic, notching four runner-up performances.

Other top-ranked men in the ATP field include Stan Wawrinka, Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer, Juan Martin Del Potro, Milos Raonic and John Isner.

In the women’s WTA event, past champions litter the top of the seedings. Victoria Azarenka, Li Na and Maria Sharapova will take the court as well as 2013 runner-up Serena Williams.

Up-and-comers in the women’s game will be on hand in Mason as well as Americans Sloane Stephens and Madison Keys are early commitments as is 20-year-old Wimbledon finalist Genie Bouchard.

Other top names in women’s tennis in the field include Agnieszka Radwanska, Petra Kvitova, Angelique Kerber, Ana Ivanovic, Caroline Wozniacki and Sam Stosur.

The Western & Southern Open is one of the prestigious ATP Masters 1000 events on the men’s tour and a Premier 5 event for the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA), making it one of only five events in the world outside of the grand slams with events of that caliber occurring during the same week at the same venue.

The tournament is also one of the last stops on the Emirates Airline US Open Series before the US Open in New York. Since 1974, the tournament has contributed more than $9 million directly to its beneficiaries: Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the Barrett Cancer Center and Tennis for City Youth.

For more information about the tournaments, tickets and any other questions, log on to the event’s website at cincytennis.com.