Cincinnati Open 2025: Sinner breezes past Auger-Aliassime to reach semifinal; Shelton beats Lehecka
The world number one powered through a rapid-fire opening set and overcame a wobble as he started the second set by dropping serve.
The defending champion prevailed in a brief 71 minutes as he claimed an eighth victory in a row at this event and his 30th this season.
'I felt great on the court today, you could see that. But every day can be different. Let's see what I can do in the semis,' said the Italian, who turns 24 on Saturday.
Sinner, playing his first tournament since his Wimbledon triumph, will face either French qualifier Terence Atmane or Danish seventh seed Holger Rune for a place in the final.
ALSO READ | Matteo Berrettini withdraws from US Open 2025
Auger-Aliassime meekly lost the opening set after less than 30 minutes, delivering three double-faults in the final game.
After dropping his serve early in the second, Sinner broke back to level at 2-all, eventually advancing as Auger-Aliassime coughed up his eighth double fault on match point.
'I served well today, that was the key for me. I had a small drop in the second set, and I'm happy that I broke back. He moves and serves well; he's difficult to play,' Sinner said.
Ben Shelton, the fifth seed coming off a title in Toronto, finished up the last of the men's fourth-round matches with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Jiri Lehecka, punctuated by back-to-back aces to yield three match points.
Shelton came good on his second as Lehecka drilled a return wide.
'I'm hungry, I'm in a good rhythm, and the body feels good,' said Shelton, who will face third-seeded Alexander Zverev for the third time this season when they meet in the quarterfinals.
Zverev has won all three of their matches, including a quarterfinal here a year ago.
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