Well, nine titles already in his kitty, it seems as if World No. 1
Novak Djokovic of Serbia is hungrier than ever to sweep away all the remaining titles of this year or every tournament title that he will be playing from here on. The Serbian, who is coming fresh off a title victory at Montreal Masters, will start off his
2011 Cincinnati Open campaign on Wednesday against World No. 78
Ryan Harrison of USA.
The American registered an upset win over world No. 23 Juan Ignacio Chela in straight sets on Monday evening with a 6-3, 6-3 scoreline in a first-round match at the Western & Southern Open in Mason to set up this dream clash with Novak Djokovic. This will be hardest test for the American, who must be feeling quite confident after earning a victory over experienced Chela. When asked about this match with Djokovic, the American asserted, "It's just a matter of playing consistent, high-quality points over and over and just knowing that after doing that the outcome is going to go your way more often than not." Harrison started the year ranked No. 173, but produced some consistent results and currently ranked as No. 78 in ATP Rankings. Harrison has a satisfactory 11-13 win-loss record this year and this nineteen years old contender has not won any title yet on tour, but considering his rise in the recent times, he is bound to win a title or two very soon.
More will be less if we talk about the current form of Novak Djokovic, who has been on a dream run in 2011 and has an awesome 54-1 win-loss record in this year. The only defeat that he conceded was in the semi-final at the Roland Garros, where great Federer snapped his 42 match winning streak. The Serbian has set a new record of winning five ATP Masters tournament in a year. His recent Masters title came last week at Montreal, where he rallied past American Mardy Fish in three sets. Besides that the Serbian has also won Aussie Open and Wimbledon. In fact, the way Djokovic has been playing, he has emerged as the strongest contender to win the US Open this year.
Obviously, Djokovic is by far the crushing favourite in his match against Harrison, who can give his best shot against the top-seed because it will be a great experience for him – in one way or another