
Aussie teenage star through in Cincinnati Open
The 19-year-old showed plenty of composure on the opening day of the tournament to dispose of Greet Minnen, advancing 6-2 6-3.
Joint reached a career-high world singles ranking of No.37 last month and is currently Australia's No.2 behind Daria Kasatkina, despite her tender age.
She dominated the Belgian in Thursday's match, winning 67 per cent of points on second serve.
Joint will now meet No.18 seed Beatriz Haddad Maia for a place in the last 32.
Meanwhile, Venus Williams, who returned to tennis last month after being away from the sport for more than a year, lost to Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4 6-4.
Next up for the seven-time grand slam singles champion is the US Open, where she received a wild-card entry with Reilly Opelka to play mixed doubles beginning August 19.
Williams has won 14 grand slam doubles titles with her sister Serena and another two in mixed doubles.
The 51st-ranked Bouzas Maneiro, who wasn't born when Williams won her first four grand slam titles, advanced to her first WTA 1000 quarter-final last week in Montreal.
With the crowd on her side, Williams pushed the 22-year-old Spaniard but struggled with her service game.
Williams, who is one year removed from uterine surgery, became the oldest woman to win a WTA match in more than two decades when she defeated Peyton Stearns last month at the DC Open. It was her first tournament in 16 months and her first win since the 2023 Cincinnati Open.

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From a player's point of view, watching England fail to win at home doesn't make you complacent — it sharpens your focus. You see the gaps, you see where they can be got at, and that belief heading into an Ashes summer is priceless. But in the end, the talk doesn't get the wins as England have shown recently. Let the games begin.