Novak Djokovic seemingly confirms participation in Cincinnati doubles

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic reached the United States earlier this week, along with his three-member team. And it seems like the Serbian star wants to maximize his time in the US by playing as much tennis as he can.

The 2020 Australian Open winner rarely plays doubles, but last week his name appeared on the doubles entry list of the Western & Southern Open. Djokovic was teamed up with the only man who has defeated him in 2020, Filip Krajinovic.

Filip Krajinovic beat Novak Djokovic during the Adria Tour's Belgrade leg

Quite a few fans expected the 33-year-old to pull out of the men's doubles event, given the immense workload he will have over the next few weeks. With the US Open and French Open to take place within a month of each other, and the Rome Masters sandwiched in between, there is very little time for the top players to catch a breather.

But now, Novak Djokovic has seemingly confirmed his participation in doubles at the Western and Southern Open. He recently shared a picture from his training session on social media, where he talked about joining forces with Filip Krajinovic in the upcoming tourney.

"Filip and Fernando back in doubles action, we’re ready. Let's go idemo," Novak Djokovic wrote.

Filip and Fernando back in doubles action, we’re ready 💪🏼 let’s gooooo idemooo @filipkrajinovic #USOpen @usopen #TeamLacoste pic.twitter.com/lToaySVBWS

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) August 17, 2020

Novak Djokovic's record in doubles matches

While Novak Djokovic has won 17 Grand Slams in singles, he has a relatively poor record in doubles. Djokovic has a win-loss record of 55-72 in doubles matches, and he has never made it to the top 100 of the rankings.

The Serbian superstar has teamed up with his compatriot Filip Krajinovic in four tournaments in the past. And the duo have registered a victory in only three of the seven matches that they have played.

Novak Djokovic has won only one doubles title

However, it is worth noting that the pair of Krajinovic and Djokovic overcame the challenge from the 2019 French Open champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies at last year's Shanghai Masters.

I’m happy to confirm that I‘ll participate at #CincyTennis and #USOpen this year. It was not an easy decision to make with all the obstacles and challenges on many sides, but the prospect of competing again makes me really excited 😃💪🏼 https://t.co/qgxSTHrKK4 pic.twitter.com/tg6rgwfFqm

— Novak Djokovic (@DjokerNole) August 13, 2020

World No. 3 Dominic Thiem was also present, partnering with Dennis Novak, in the alternatives section of the Cincinnati entry list. But the Austrian is yet to confirm whether he will play doubles or not.

Besides, the Cincinnati tourney also features the defending champions Ivan Dodig / Filip Polasek, the No. 1 team of 2019 Juan Sebastian Cabal / Robert Farah, and the 2020 Australian Open winners Rajeev Ram / Joe Salisbury.

With Novak Djokovic in the mix, the men's doubles event will naturally gain a lot more attention. The organizers will declare the final draw on Thursday, after six teams join the tournament through on-site entries and three others get a wildcard.