{"id":2646,"date":"2026-08-17T11:00:19","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T11:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=2646"},"modified":"2026-08-17T11:00:19","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T11:00:19","slug":"greg-rusedski-says-novak-djokovic-has-to-be-protected-after-what-happened-at-cincinnati-open","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/?p=2646","title":{"rendered":"Greg Rusedski says Novak Djokovic \u2018has to be protected\u2019 after what happened at Cincinnati Open"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski has asserted that Novak Djokovic<\/a> \u201chas to be protected\u201d by tournament organisers after his Cincinnati Open exit.<\/p>\n

Djokovic was upset 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 by world No 50 Thiago Agustin Tirante in his opening match at the Masters 1000 event in Mason, Ohio on Saturday.<\/p>\n

The 24-time Grand Slam champion dominated the first set, but he struggled physically thereafter in brutal afternoon head and humidity in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n

Following the match, Djokovic said he has been dealing with a health problem that causes \u201ca lot of issues\u201d when he plays in such challenging weather conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just a condition that I have, health-wise, that has been bothering me for the past couple of years. A lot of issues, especially when it is humid and it is hot,\u201d the 39-year-old Serbian explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did anticipate it, but there are all these things, like nerves and everything involved that make it worse, and that\u2019s what happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

More Tennis News<\/h2>\n

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Novak Djokovic \u2018health condition\u2019 leaves him questioning whether he can find a solution<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

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On the latest episode of his Off Court With Greg Rusedski<\/a> podcast, Rusedski argued Djokovic should not be scheduled to play during the day in difficult conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m just happy to have Novak around whenever it\u2019s possible. He\u2019s 39 years of age, what he\u2019s achieved is phenomenal,\u201d said the former world No 4.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it\u2019s so hard physically, especially in the heat and the humidity in Cincinnati. It can be brutal.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember playing matches there \u2014 I was just standing there and I was dripping, you can barely hold your racket. The heat is unbearable, the ice towel has to be on.<\/p>\n

\u201cNovak has to be protected. He can\u2019t be playing during the day. He has to be playing in the evenings, from 7 o\u2019clock onwards. He\u2019s earned the right to do so.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd especially against a young gun like the Argentinian Tirante, who can hit the ball an absolute ton. So, that was a brutal scheduling for Novak.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think in the US Open, he\u2019ll be protected, and I hope he continues to play for a long time.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven youngsters would struggle in that heat. I mean, look at Jack Draper in his match, he wasn\u2019t finding it easy, as well, and he\u2019s a lot younger than Novak.\u201d<\/p>\n

The former British No 1 continued: \u201cAnd the other thing is he had the longest game I think in a long time \u2014 17 minutes plus. In that heat, 17 minutes\u2026 I mean, that is brutal.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis opponent made it physical, took advantage of the conditions after losing the opening set, and that\u2019s what you have to do against Novak.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut we have to give him a little bit of love and put him at the right time of day if you want to keep him in the tournament!<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, for me, scheduling plays a part. I know you can\u2019t always protect your big names because of rain and different things, but I think sometimes, you have to do those things.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The post Greg Rusedski says Novak Djokovic \u2018has to be protected\u2019 after what happened at Cincinnati Open<\/a> appeared first on Tennis365<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Former US Open finalist Greg Rusedski has asserted that Novak Djokovic \u201chas to be protected\u201d by tournament organisers after his Cincinnati Open exit. Djokovic was upset 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 by world No 50 Thiago Agustin Tirante in his opening match at the Masters 1000 event in Mason, Ohio on Saturday. The 24-time Grand Slam champion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2646","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-articles"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2646"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2646\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2646"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2646"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tennisring.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2646"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}