Defending champions Jannik Sinner, Aryna Sabalenka reach Cincinnati quarters
Jannik Sinner returns a shot against Adrian Mannarino during the Cincinnati Open.
CINCINNATI – Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka led the way into the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals on Aug 13, with Carlos Alcaraz hot on their heels with a straight-sets victory of his own.
Sinner shrugged off a mid-match weather delay lasting nearly three hours as he advanced 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) over Adrian Mannarino of France.
Sabalenka, taken to three sets in her previous match with Emma Raducanu, regrouped after surrendering a second-set service break to defeat Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-1, 7-5.
Alcaraz, the second seed who has reached the finals of his last six tournaments, hammered Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4 in an impressive victory.
'This match was my best so far of the tournament,' the Spanish world No. 2. said. 'At the start I wanted to get better each day and I've done that.
'I'm proud of that and happy with how I felt the ball and how I moved,' added Alcaraz, who next faces ninth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev.
World No. 1 Sinner, playing his first tournament since winning Wimbledon, notched his 24th consecutive hardcourt match victory.
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Mannarino's tricky game took a toll as Sinner was broken while trying to serve out the match in the second set. It went to a tiebreak, with Sinner firing his 11th and 12th aces to clinch victory.
'He's a very difficult opponent, different from the other payers,' he said. 'He can read the opponent well. It was a struggle to close it out but I'm happy to be in the quarter-finals.'
Sinner next faces Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, who beat Benjamin Bonzi of France 6-4, 6-3.
After her marathon victory against Raducanu, world No. 1 Sabalenka was pleased to get off the court in straight sets against Bouzas Maneiro.
'The key was to focus and put as much pressure as possible on her serve,' said the Belarusian.
'I'm glad to win in straight sets, I didn't want to stay for three hours.'
Sabalenka will face former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who beat Australian Open champion Madison Keys 6-7 (3-7), 6-4, 6-2.
In other matches, third-seeded Alexander Zverev had to take to the court twice to reach the quarters – although both outings were relatively short-lived.
The German started his day by polishing off a 6-4, 6-4 third-round victory over Brandon Nakashima in a match continued from the previous day.
The entire one-game exercise, with 2021 Cincy winner Zverev leading 6-4, 5-4 when play resumed, took less than two minutes.
Hours later, he advanced to the quarters when Karen Khachanov retired with Zverev leading 7-5, 3-0.
Fifth seed Ben Shelton, last week's Toronto champion, reached the last 16 with a 7-6 (7-3), 6-3 victory over Roberto Bautista Agut in a match rescheduled from Aug 12.
Women's third seed Iga Swiatek beat Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3, overcoming 33 unforced errors in a 95-minute victory to reach the quarters.
'I wanted to be more solid than in my last match,' Wimbledon champion Swiatek said. 'I'm happy with the level of my focus and the consistency.' AFP
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