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Yahoo
3 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Defending champ Sinner subdues Atmane to reach Cincinnati ATP final
World number one Jannik Sinner ruthlessly subdued 136th-ranked Terence Atmane 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 on Saturday to reach the final of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open. Italy's Sinner, celebrating his 24th birthday, ended French qualifier Atmane's dream run and will now try to become the first man since Roger Federer in 2014-15 to win back-to-back titles in Cincinnati. In Monday's final he'll face either world number two Carlos Alcaraz or third-ranked Alexander Zverev, who faced off later Saturday. Sinner, tuning up for the US Open in his first tournament since winning Wimbledon, hasn't dropped a set en route to the final. Atmane gave birthday boy Sinner a Pokemon card shortly before they went on court, but he was in a less giving mood once they were underway. The 23-year-old Frenchman, who beat world number four Taylor Fritz and ninth-ranked Holger Rune to reach the semis, looked right at home in the biggest match of his career, using his powerful lefty forehand to good effect. But Sinner surrendered just three points in his first six service games as they went to the tiebreaker with neither man facing a break point. Atmane double faulted on the first point of the decider and Sinner was away, powering to a 5-2 lead and pocketing the set at his second opportunity. Sinner showed a first sign of vulnerability as he needed five game points to hold serve in the opening game of the second set. But that was the closest look Atmane got at his serve, and Sinner broke the Frenchman for a 3-1 lead and again to seal the match. bb/js
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Sabalenka and Gauff crash out in Cincinnati as Alcaraz survives to reach semis
World number one Aryna Sabalenka and second-ranked Coco Gauff were sent crashing out of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Friday as Carlos Alcaraz fought off a fierce challenge from Andrey Rublev to reach the semi-finals. Top seed and defending champion Sabalenka had no answer for Elena Rybakina, falling to the 2022 Wimbledon champion 6-1, 6-4. Reigning French Open champion Gauff had 16 double faults in a 2-6, 6-4, 6-3 exit at the hands of seventh-seeded Italian Jasmine Paolini. Spain's second-ranked Alcaraz had his difficulties, but he broke Rublev in the final game of a tense duel to emerge a 6-3, 4-6, 7-5 winner and will face third-seeded Alexander Zverev, who brought fifth-seeded Toronto champion Ben Shelton's run to an end with a 6-2, 6-2 victory. Zverev earned a 4-1 lead in the second set as Shelton angrily tossed his racquet on the changeover, and the 2021 champion polished off the win on a second match point. He now has 24 hours to try to get fit. "I'm not feeling too great now, but I have a day to get fresh," Zverev said. "I hope to be at 100%. "I'm not sure what happened. I felt very well, but at the end of the first set, it got progressively worse. But I'll do all I can to give it a shot tomorrow." Alcaraz was broken while serving for victory at 5-4 in the final set against 11th-ranked Rublev, but he found his focus and used his trademark grit to come through three games later. He sealed the triumph as an emotional Rublev hit an eighth double-fault on match point. "I maintained the positive thoughts even if I lost focus a bit in the second set," said Alcaraz, whose five titles so far this year include the French Open as well as Masters 1000 trophies in Monte Carlo and Rome. - Rybakina revenge - Rybakina fired 11 aces en route to a fifth career victory over Sabalenka in 12 meetings. She avenged a loss to the Belarusian in Berlin two months ago and booked a semi-final meeting with Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek -- a 6-3, 6-4 winner over Anna Kalinskaya. Rybakina was aided by 11 aces as she reached her first Cincinnati semi-final. "I'm happy with the serve. It was the key today," Rybakina said. "I served really well." "If she had been serving well, it would have been a totally different match," she acknowledged. Rybakina has won her last three matches against Swiatek, all played this season. But Swiatek was feeling confident after downing Kalinskaya in what she called "the best match I played here." "I'm happy that I'm progressing during the tournament," Swiatek said. Gauff, the 2023 Cincinnati champion, had looked well on her way after a quick first set against Paolini. But her mistakes caught up with her as she was broken eight times by the Italian, who overcame plenty of errors of her own as well as a twisted ankle suffered early in the third set. "It was so tough at the start, I was running and trying to put the ball inside the court," Paolini said. "I started to feel the ball better." "I fought for every point and stayed in the match," added the Italian, who will face Veronika Kudermetova for a place in the final. Kudermetova crushed Varvara Gracheva 6-1, 6-2. str/bb/cwl
Malay Mail
6 days ago
- Sport
- Malay Mail
Sinner, Sabalenka sail into Cincinnati quarter-finals
CINCINNATI, Aug 14 — Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka booked quarter-final berths at the rain-hit ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Wednesday with straight-set wins. Sinner shrugged off a mid-match rain interruption lasting nearly three hours as he advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Adrian Mannarino. He next faces Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, who beat Benjamin Bonzi of France 6-4, 6-3. Sabalenka, taken to three sets in her previous match with Emma Raducanu, defeated Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-1, 7-5, winning a season-leading 50th match of 2025 and reaching her 29th career last-eight at the elite 1000 level. Sabalenka had to work after surrendering a second-set break, but she broke Bouzas Maneiro in the final game to seal the victory. 'The key was to focus and put as much pressure as possible on her serve,' Sabalenka said. 'I was up a break, made a couple of mistakes and she broke me back. 'I'm glad to win in straight sets - I didn't want to stay for three hours.' World number one Sinner, playing his first tournament since lifting the trophy at Wimbledon, notched his 24th consecutive hardcourt match win to gain his fifth quarter-final of the season. The victory required patience, with the Italian who turns 24 on Saturday passing some of the afternoon weather pause by playing cards with his team. Sinner had won the first set and they were on serve in the second when they returned, but Frenchman's tricky game took a toll as Sinner was broken while trying to serve out the match. The second set instead went to a tiebreak, with the Italian firing his 11th and 12th aces to clinch victory. 'He's a very difficult opponent, different from the other payers,' Sinner 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.' Earlier former champion Alexander Zverev polished off a weather-hit third-round victory, winning the final four points of a 6-4, 6-4 win over Brandon Nakashima. The entire one-game exercise, with 2021 Cincy winner Zverev leading 6-4, 5-4 when play resumed, took less than two minutes, with the third seed set for a later fourth-round encounter against Toronto finalist Karen Khachanov. Fifth seed Ben Shelton, last week's Toronto winner, reached the fourth round with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, victory over Roberto Bautista Agut in a match rescheduled from Tuesday. Swiatek advances Women's third seed Iga Swiatek and men's seventh seed Holger Rune both booked quarter-final berths before afternoon showers struck. Wimbledon champion Swiatek beat Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3, overcoming 33 unforced errors in a 95-minute victory. 'I wanted to be more solid than in my last match,' Swiatek said. 'I'm happy with the level of my focus and the consistency.' Rune advanced as 2024 finalist Frances Tiafoe retired with lower back pain with Denmark's Rune up 6-4, 3-1. The match was a re-run of a quarter-final here a year ago, won by the American who went on to fall to Sinner in the final. Tiafoe received treatment on his back but it didn't seem to help as Rune gained control. The American walked dejectedly off court, carrying only a pair of shoes while an official carted away his massive tennis bag. Rune, bothered this season by his own injury worries, secured his 100th career hard-court win and his first defeat of a top 20 opponent since he beat Carlos Alcaraz in the Barcelona final in April. In another match interrupted on Tuesday, Magda Linette reached the fourth round at Cincinnati for the first time with a 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-3 upset of fourth-seeded American Jessica Pegula. — AFP
Arab News
6 days ago
- Sport
- Arab News
Sinner, Sabalenka sail into Cincinnati quarterfinals
CINCINNATI: Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka booked quarterfinal berths at the rain-hit ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Wednesday with straight-set wins. For the latest updates, follow us @ArabNewsSport Sinner shrugged off a mid-match rain interruption lasting nearly three hours as he advanced with a 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) victory over Adrian Mannarino. He next faces Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, who beat Benjamin Bonzi of France 6-4, 6-3. Sabalenka, taken to three sets in her previous match with Emma Raducanu, defeated Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-1, 7-5, winning a season-leading 50th match of 2025 and reaching her 29th career last-eight at the elite 1000 level. Sabalenka had to work after surrendering a second-set break, but she broke Bouzas Maneiro in the final game to seal the victory. 'The key was to focus and put as much pressure as possible on her serve,' Sabalenka said. 'I was up a break, made a couple of mistakes and she broke me back. 'I'm glad to win in straight sets — I didn't want to stay for three hours.' World No. 1 Sinner, playing his first tournament since lifting the trophy at Wimbledon, notched his 24th consecutive hardcourt match win to gain his fifth quarterfinal of the season. The victory required patience, with the Italian who turns 24 on Saturday passing some of the afternoon weather pause by playing cards with his team. Sinner had won the first set and they were on serve in the second when they returned, but Frenchman's tricky game took a toll as Sinner was broken while trying to serve out the match. The second set instead went to a tiebreak, with the Italian firing his 11th and 12th aces to clinch victory. 'He's a very difficult opponent, different from the other players,' Sinner said. 'He can read the opponent well. 'It was a struggle to close it out, but I'm happy to be in the quarterfinals.' Earlier former champion Alexander Zverev polished off a weather-hit third-round victory, winning the final four points of a 6-4, 6-4 win over Brandon Nakashima. The entire one-game exercise, with 2021 Cincy winner Zverev leading 6-4, 5-4 when play resumed, took less than two minutes, with the third seed set for a later fourth-round encounter against Toronto finalist Karen Khachanov. Fifth seed Ben Shelton, last week's Toronto winner, reached the fourth round with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3, victory over Roberto Bautista Agut in a match rescheduled from Tuesday. Women's third seed Iga Swiatek and men's seventh seed Holger Rune both booked quarterfinal berths before afternoon showers struck. Wimbledon champion Swiatek beat Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3, overcoming 33 unforced errors in a 95-minute victory. 'I wanted to be more solid than in my last match,' Swiatek said. 'I'm happy with the level of my focus and the consistency.' Rune advanced as 2024 finalist Frances Tiafoe retired with lower back pain with Denmark's Rune up 6-4, 3-1. The match was a re-run of a quarterfinal here a year ago, won by the American who went on to fall to Sinner in the final. Tiafoe received treatment on his back but it didn't seem to help as Rune gained control. The American walked dejectedly off court, carrying only a pair of shoes while an official carted away his massive tennis bag. Rune, bothered this season by his own injury worries, secured his 100th career hard-court win and his first defeat of a top 20 opponent since he beat Carlos Alcaraz in the Barcelona final in April. In another match interrupted on Tuesday, Magda Linette reached the fourth round at Cincinnati for the first time with a 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-3 upset of fourth-seeded American Jessica Pegula.
Yahoo
11-08-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Alcaraz battles as Shelton, Zverev race into Cincinnati third round
Carlos Alcaraz fought through a second-set slump to post a "rollercoaster" 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match Sunday at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open. The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian. Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide. "It was just a rollercoaster," said the second seed, who was winning his 12th straight match at the Masters 1000 level after taking the titles in Monte Carlo and Rome. "Lots of good feelings, bad feelings, back to the good ones. I am happy to get the win at the end. I know that I have chances to do better." Alcaraz committed 44 unforced errors and said conditions in Cincinnati, where he was runner-up in 2023, were always tricky. "The ball flies a lot, goes super fast," he said. "You have to be ready to be in a good position for each shot and that is really difficult to do." Third seed Alexander Zverev found things more straightforward, winning 6-3, 6-3 against US wild card Nishesh Basavareddy in the night session. Zverev needed just 66 minutes to get past Basavareddy, a 20-year-old ranked 109th in the world. The German put 41 of his 50 first serves in play and didn't face a break point. Basavareddy saved one match point with a blistering service return but Zverev secured the win with his 12th ace. American Ben Shelton, coming off his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto, eased through 6-3, 3-1 when Camilo Ugo Carabelli retired with a knee injury. Shelton's early night was a boon after a draining Toronto tournament which only ended on Thursday night. "It's not easy to play a couple of days after winning any title," Shelton said. "I feel for Camilo and it's obviously not the way that you want to go through. I hope that he has a quick recovery." Asked about the tape on his own right thigh, Shelton said he has "a few muscle things" going on. "The legs take a lot of force," he said. Sixth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, the Washington champion, lost to American Reilly Opelka 7-6 (8/6), 6-4. But another Australian, Adam Walton, secured a first top-50 win of his career with a 6-7 (0/7), 6-4, 6-1 upset of former world number one and 2019 Cincy champion Daniil Medvedev of Russia. - Gauff battles through - In the women's draw, French Open champion Coco Gauff battled through a tough first set to beat China's Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-2. Gauff, who lifted the trophy in Cincinnati in 2023 and went on to claim her first Grand Slam title at the US Open that year, had to grind her way through the first set. But the number two seed steadied in the second to run out the winner in 71 minutes. "It was a rough start," Gauff said. "But it was about just trusting myself and the work we've done in practice." Third seed Jessica Pegula, runner-up last year to Aryna Sabalenka, defeated Kimberly Birrell 6-4, 6-3. Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, finalist last season at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, also advanced, beating Maria Sakkari of Greece 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5). str/bb/dh
