26 years ago it was called the ATP Championships.  Quite the grand name for a solid tournament held near Kings Island, an amusement park.

The year was 1983.  Mats Wilander had just served notice that he was the new Swede.  Bjorn Borg announced he was taking time off in 1981 shortly after his loss to John McEnroe at the US Open.  He would return in 1982.  When he was told that he had to qualify in tournaments, he balked, saying he’d rather stay retired.  Few in the leadership expected Borg to stay away, but for all practical purposes, that’s what he did.  The Swede that had won 5 straight Wimbledons but never the US Open retired at 26.

When the French Open rolled around in 1982, a French Open without Borg, few expected another Swede to win.  Was there even another good Swedish player?  Mats Wilander stunned veteran Guillermo Vilas in the finals to win his first ever title at the ripe young age of 17.

Wilander would take another step forward by learning how to play on hard courts.  Wilander had pushed McEnroe in a Davis Cup match on indoor carpet to five gruelling sets: 9–7, 6–2, 15-17, 3–6, 8–6.  It still remains the longest Davis Cup match in history at 6 hours and 32 minutes and heralded a talent who had been considered something of a clay courter up til then.

Although Wilander lost to McEnroe in St. Louis, the two would meet again in Cincinatti later in the summer on hard courts.  Wilander would beat McEnroe, 6-4, 6-4.  He’d also do what Borg never did, which was win the US Open in 1988.

The ATP Championships is no longer called that, although it is still held in Cincinnati.  The more formidable name is “Western & Southern Financial Group Masters” which is a trend of ponderous titles with financial or banking industries associated with it (e.g., Legg Mason, BNP Paribas).

As with Montreal, this is a Masters 1000 event, which means all the top players are here.

Let’s take a look at the draw.

Roger Federer is in the same quarter as Andy Roddick.  Federer may meet players that gave him some trouble.  He might face Acasuso in the second round.  The third round will have the winners of Ferrero, Wawrinka, Ferrer, and Cilic making that sixteenth of the draw quite formidable, but alas, only one guy can come out of that section to play Roger.

Roddick’s section is a little more pleasant.  In his eighth, Sam Querrey, Lleyton Hewitt, and Robin Soderling.  Since Hewitt faces Soderling in the first round, only one of the two can get through.

Number 2 Andy Murray is in the same quarter as del Potro.  Interestingly enough, the draw has him listed as the 3rd seed.  I wonder whether they will maintain this draw which was likely made prior to Murray becoming number 2 in the world.  I suspect so.

Murray’s eighth seems pretty friendly.  Two wildcards, Marat Safin and Robby Ginepri, are in his section.  He also has Almagro, Sela, and Stepanek.

del Potro has Verdasco, Hanescu, and Youzhny in his eighth.

Djokovic has Davydenko in his quarter.  In his eighth, Davydenko has Blake, Simon, Andreev, and Kunitsyn.  In other words, it doesn’t look so bad for Davydenko.

Djokovic has Robredo, Chardy, Isner, and Haas in his eighth, although only one can get through to meet him in the quaterfinals.

Nadal is in the same quarter as Tsonga.  In Tsonga’s eighth, there are: Kohlschreiber, Berdych, and Gonzalez.  In Nadal’s eighth, there are: Monfils, Karlovic, and Mathieu.  So his section doesn’t look that bad.

Andy Murray is the defending champion at Cincinnati.  It will be interesting to see several things.  First, does this draw remain “as is”?  If so, this means despite being number 2 in the world, the effect doesn’t take place for a week so that it doesn’t disrupt the following tournament.

Second, does Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic rebound and play better this week or will there be more surprises?  Will del Potro play well again or is fatigue setting in (admittedly, only two tournaments played, so not like the grind of the clay court circuit)?  Soderling withdrew from DC, so how will he play in Cincinnati?

Will there be a “Mats Wilander” for this year?  Does anyone even fit the bill?

Should be an exciting week on the tennis court!