Novak Djokovic could skip his participation at the Cincinnati Masters later this month, depending on the outcome of the Serb's campaign at the 2016 Rio Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Djokovic is originally scheduled to play at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati once his stint at the 2016 Rio Olympics is over. However, the 12-time Grand Slam winner admitted his participation at the ATP 1000 Masters event in Cincinnati is cloudy at this point, adding that his decision may depend on the results of his bid for a Gold Medal at the Olympics.
"I'm playing singles and doubles in Brazil," Djokovic said, reports Tennis World USA. "That's a lot of matches for I think 10 days' event. Let's see how that goes and we will speak about Cincinnati later."
Djokovic is scheduled to play at the Cincinnati Masters and was supposed to join career rival Roger Federer before the Swiss Maestro, who defeated "Djoker" in last year's edition of the tournament, decided to skip the rest of the season due to a re-injured surgically-repaired left knee.
While Federer's absence would give Djokovic a great chance to win his first ever title at the tournament, exhausting his energy at the Olympics and his preparation for the US Open could force him to skip the ATP 1000 Masters in Ohio.
Meanwhile, after winning his fourth Rogers Cup title, Djokovic is laser focus on winning the elusive Gold Medal in singles competition. The 29-year-old Serb, who enters the Olympic Games as one of the heavy favorites to bag home the Gold, his disappointing Wimbledon loss in the hands of American Sam Querrey has motivated him a lot heading into the quadrennial sporting event.
"Everything in life happens for a reason, so, you know, the fact that I have lost in the first week of Wimbledon allowed me to have a week more with my family and some quality time off tennis to think about other things, recharge my batteries, and then come in here with plenty of motivation to do well," Djokovic said, reports Olympiadas.
"So I couldn't have asked for a better start for the hard court season, and hopefully I can keep going in the right direction."