Sinner, Sabalenka sail into Cincinnati quarter-finals

CINCINNATI, Aug 14 — Reigning champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka both secured their spots in the quarter-finals of the rain-disrupted ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Wednesday with straight-set victories.

Sinner overcame a nearly three-hour rain delay to defeat Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 7-6 (7/4). The Italian, playing his first event since winning Wimbledon, will next meet Canada’s Felix Auger-Aliassime, who beat France’s Benjamin Bonzi 6-4, 6-3. The world No.1 extended his undefeated run on hard courts to 24 matches and reached his fifth quarter-final of the season. The 23-year-old had won the opening set and was serving for the match when play was stopped. Upon resumption, he was broken, but recovered in the tiebreak by striking his 11th and 12th aces to close out the victory. “He’s a very challenging opponent and can read the game very well,” Sinner said. “It wasn’t easy to finish it off but I’m happy to advance.”

Sabalenka produced her 50th win of the season by overcoming Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-1, 7-5. After being pushed to three sets in her previous round by Emma Raducanu, the Belarusian had to battle in the second set after losing her serve, but immediately broke back to seal the win. “The key was to stay focused and apply pressure on her serve,” Sabalenka said. “I’m pleased to win in straight sets — I didn’t want another three-hour match.”

Earlier in the day, former champion Alexander Zverev completed a rain-delayed third-round match against Brandon Nakashima, winning the final four points for a 6-4, 6-4 victory. Zverev, the 2021 Cincinnati winner, will face Toronto finalist Karen Khachanov in the next round. Fifth seed Ben Shelton, fresh off his Toronto title, progressed to the fourth round with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 win over Roberto Bautista Agut in another match carried over from Tuesday.

Elsewhere, third-seeded Iga Swiatek and seventh seed Holger Rune also made it into the quarter-finals before the afternoon rain arrived. Swiatek defeated Sorana Cirstea 6-4, 6-3 despite committing 33

unforced errors. “I wanted to be more solid than in my last match,” she said. “I’m satisfied with my focus and consistency.”

Rune advanced after Frances Tiafoe retired due to lower back pain while trailing 6-4, 3-1. The Dane notched his 100th career hard-court win and his first victory over a top-20 opponent since April.

In another rain-delayed contest, Magda Linette upset fourth seed Jessica Pegula 7-6 (7/5), 3-6, 6-3 to reach the Cincinnati fourth round for the first time. — AFP