Defending champion Marin Cilic has announced his withdrawal from next week’s Western and Southern Open in Cincinnati as he still recovers from the injury he suffered at Wimbledon.
The 2014 champion announced the news on his Facebook page as he has yet to recover from the injury he suffered at this year’s Wimbledon final, where he lost to Roger Federer. Here is his statement in full:
‘After having to withdraw from the ATP Masters 1000 event in Montreal, there is another unpleasant task, as I have to announce that I will have to pull out from tournament in Cincinnati as well. I was really eager to play in Cincinnati, where I’ve won my first-career ATP Masters 1000 singles title last year and where I had one of the best performances during my career, but I still don’t feel at 100% to compete at the top level and to defend my title there.
I have already started with my preparation and the progress is going well but there isn’t enough time for me to prepare for Cincinnati and to be completely ready to play there.
Still, I feel very confident that I will be back in action very soon, and I am looking forward to the upcoming US Open. Once again, thank you all for all the support I am receiving during this injury period! See you soon.’
The latest announcement is a huge blow to the tournament as they were hoping that their defending champion would add to the strength of the current field that will be their next week. We have also learnt today that Frenchman Lucas Pouille has also withdrawn to reflect on his recent poor form. Cilic and Pouille join Novak Djokovic, Stan Wawrinka and last year’s finalist Andy Murray in missing next week’s tournament in Ohio.
However the likes of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Kei Nishikori will still compete in Cincinnati which starts on Monday.
