Notes and Photos From the Western & Southern Open (Men's Draw)

Marin Cilic from Crotia

The addition of the Summer Olympics into the middle of an already overbooked and grueling tennis season has taken its toll on the men's draw at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati.

Four of the top 16 players in the world (Nadal, Isner, Simon, and Tsonga) withdrew prior to the start of the tournament. World #3 Rafael Nadal continues to suffer from tendinitis in his knee, an ailment which he announced today will keep him out of the U.S. Open as well. Top American John Isner and Frenchman Gilles Simon also withdrew due to recent injuries. Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 6th ranked player in the world, hurt himself off court last week, colliding with a fire hydrant in Toronto and getting several stitches in his knee as a result.

4th seeded David Ferrer of Spain

When you add to that list of wounded tennis warriors - the No. 4 seed David Ferrer appeared not exactly weary, but less like a hyperactive jack rabbit than usual in a straight sets loss, and the No. 7 seed Janko Tipsarevic was forced to retire from his second round match - you can only draw one conclusion: men's professional tennis is seriously banged up.

As we head into the round of 16 on Thursday, an abundance of talented tennis players are still in the hunt for the title in Cincinnati though, and there are still a few things, or a few players rather, who have proven themselves to be as dependable as death and taxes. Federer, Djokovic, and Murray are all through to the next round without dropping a single set in their opening matches.

But enough of all that, here is the first installment of photos from various men's matches and practice court sessions so far this week. I'll publish more pics of the top guys in the game, and of course photos of the best women players in the world, later in the week. Enjoy!

Serious-looking Tomas Berdych, world No. 7 (Czech Republic).

Richard Gasquet (France) showing off his contortion skills.

Stan Wawrinka (Swiss) streeeetttching.

Viktor Troicki (Serbia) advances to the round of 16.

Santiago Giraldo (Colombia) playing frisbee.

Nenad Zimonjic (Serbia) - my favorite doubles guy.

Bernard Tomic (Austalia) - bit blurry but an awesome shot.

Headed to a doubles match - Mikhail Youzhny (Russia),
Philip Kolschreiber - barely pictured (Germany),
Jarkko Nieminen (Finland), and Stan Wawrinka (Swiss).

Milos Raonic (Canada) - note the 132mph on the
serve speed. He hit 140 mph later in the match.

Andy Murray (Great Britain), Olympic Gold Medalist

Roger Federer (Swiss) - G.O.A.T
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