The mystery of Novak Djokovic's drought at the Cincinnati stop on the ATP Masters series continues.
The world's top-ranked player lost his fifth final Sunday at the Western & Southern Open with a straight-sets loss to Roger Federer 7-6 (1), 6-3. The win gave Federer his seventh Western & Southern Open championship.
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One theory being floated about -- or blown in, as the case may be -- is that Djokovic struggles under windy conditions, which usually persist in Cincinnati, according to tennis.com.
During his third-round match against David Goffin, Joker found himself down 3-0 in the third and deciding set before he tongued-lashed himself back into the match, winning the final six games to advance.
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"Very tough conditions to play," Djokovic said after the match, "very frustrating to me. Tough because of the wind and just generally in Cincinnati it's not easy to control the ball. You gotta make that extra step. Find adjustment steps before you hit the ball."
Tennis.com added that Cincinnati is the only Masters stop Djokovic has failed to win in his storied career.
"You know where it's also windy? Arthur Ashe Stadium during the first week of September," tennis.com added.
Djokovic has reached the finals at the U.S. Open five times, winning just once (in 2011).
"You don't win 658 career matches without knowing how to play in the wind," tennis.com reported. "And after the 2011 U.S. Open final, Djokovic was specifically credited by The New York Times for a 'keen use of the wind' in his win over Rafael Nadal. But Djokovic can be bothered by it. As I said, he's never won in Cincy, and despite having so much success at the U.S. Open, he's only won it once.
"Maybe, like he says, Djokovic is used to using his flexibility, rather than extra adjustment steps, to prepare for a shot. Maybe the wind plays havoc with his patient point construction. Maybe it just gets under his skin. Or maybe, most of the time, he's fine in the wind, and we just notice when he happens to have a bad day."
Djokovic will have a chance to disprove that theory in two weeks in New York. But his Cincinnati drought gives his rivals hope that he can be more vulnerable, despite his 56-5 record in 2015.
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