Top seeds Sabalenka and Sinner through to last eight
Jannik Sinner goes full stretch to try and get to a shot by Adrian Mannarino at the Cincinnati Open. Photo: Reuters
World number one Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals with a 6-1 7-5 victory over Jessica Bouzas Maneiro while men's top seed Jannik Sinner beat Adrian Mannarino following a lengthy rain delay.
Fresh off a thrilling third-round battle with Emma Raducanu, women's reigning champion Sabalenka had an easier ride against Spaniard Bouzas Maneiro, earning her tour-leading 50th win in one hour and 20 minutes.
The Belarusian will next meet 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina in a final-worthy showdown, as the ninth-seeded Kazakh rallied from a set down to beat Australian Open winner Madison Keys 6-7(3) 6-4 6-2.
Earlier, six-time Grand Slam champion Iga Swiatek reached the quarters with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Sorana Cirstea, with the third-seeded Pole extending her perfect record against the Romanian to 5-0.
In the men's draw, defending champion Sinner kept his title defence on track, beating Frenchman Mannarino 6-4 7-6(4) after an almost three-hour rain interruption.
The Italian four-time Grand Slam champion struggled to find his rhythm, failing to serve out at 6-5 but sealing the tiebreak with back-to-back aces for his 24th consecutive hard-court victory.
Spanish second seed Carlos Alcaraz booked his 18th Masters 1000 quarter-final by beating Italian Luca Nardi 6-1 6-4. The five-times major winner, into the last eight in Cincinnati for the third time, has now won 36 of his last 38 matches.
Alcaraz will next face Russian ninth seed Andrey Rublev, who beat Argentine Francisco Comesana 6-2 6-3. (Reuters)
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