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Jannik Sinner overcame brutally windy conditions and Andrey Rublev on Saturday at the Cincinnati Open, where he earned a hard-fought 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 win to reach the semi-finals and gain revenge against the sixth seed.

The Italian fell to Rublev in three sets in the quarter-finals in Montreal last week and for large periods in Ohio, the World No. 1 looked in trouble again. In windy conditions, Sinner was pushed to the floor by the wind at times but dug deep and improved as the match went on to earn a tough victory. He crucially saved two break points on serve at 3-4 in the second set before he fended off a mini revival from Rublev in the decider to improve to 6-3 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

"It took a lot of mental strength today," said Sinner, who committed 44 unforced errors, largely due to the wind. "It was very tough conditions, very windy. In the first set he started very well and I didn't play my best tennis but in the second set, I felt I had a lot of chances. I waited for my chance. I am very happy to make the semis."

Sinner is chasing his third ATP Masters 1000 title and first trophy since winning the ATP 500 in Halle on grass in June. Now 46-5 on the season, the top seed will next face Alexander Zverev or Ben Shelton in his ninth Masters 1000 semi-final and first in Cincinnati.

In a tight clash, Rublev was the more consistent in the first set, breaking Sinner’s serve twice to lead. However, the 23-year-old turned the tables in the second set, striking 17 winners compared to just two from Rublev, who also committed 20 unforced errors in the set, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos continued their quest to complete the Canada-Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 double on Saturday at the Cincinnati Open when they moved past Neal Skupski and Michael Venus 6-4. 6-4.

The top seeds triumphed in Montreal last week and have now won their past seven matches. The Spanish-Argentine team clinched 77 per cent (30/39) of their first-serve points to advance after 79 minutes and set a semi-final meeting with Americans Mackenzie McDonald and Alex Michelsen.

Granollers and Zeballos are chasing their second title in Ohio, having won at the hard-court event in 2021.

In other action, Ivan Dodig and Jamie Murray clawed past Arthur Fils and Nicolas Jarry 2-6, 7-6(5), 10-6. Dodig and Murray are teaming for just the second time and first time since 2021. They have won 56 titles between them.

The Croatian-Briton team will meet Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic in the last four. Arevalo and Pavic eliminated Wimbledon champions Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten 6-2, 6-4. Arevalo and Pavic are currently second in the PIF ATP Doubles Teams Rankings and in a good position to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals.

The North American hard-court swing continues this week at the Winston-Salem Open, where Sebastian Baez will be the top seed for his title defence. The Argentine will face stiff competition from the likes of Francisco Cerundolo and 2022 champion Adrian Mannarino.

ATPTour.com looks at five things to watch in Winston-Salem.

1) Defending champ Baez: The 23-year-old Argentine won his first tour-level title on hard courts last year in Winston-Salem, winning four three-setters on his run. Baez has backed that up with clay trophies in Rio de Janeiro and Santiago this year, with five of his six ATP Tour crowns coming on that surface. He will bid to improve upon his 4-6 hard-court record this season after a second-round exit at the Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000.

Baez will be joined in Winston-Salem by fellow Argentines Cerundolo, Tomas Martin Etcheverry, Mariano Navone and Federico Coria, with Cerundolo receiving a wild card into the singles draw.

2) Former champ Mannarino: After rising to a career-high PIF ATP Ranking of No. 17 at the start of 2024, Mannarino has struggled to an 8-22 record this season. The 36-year-old Frenchman will hope memories of his 2022 title run in Winston-Salem — when he won 11 consecutive sets — can spark a resurgence of form. 

Carlos Alcaraz has issued a public apology for his rare show of frustration during his opening-round loss at the Cincinnati Open Friday.

The World No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings broke his racquet after repeatedly smashing it into the court early in the third set of his surprise loss to French veteran Gael Monfils.

The 21-year-old took to social media on Saturday to reflect on his behaviour.

"I apologise because my attitude yesterday was not correct and it is something that should not be done on the track," Alcaraz wrote on X. "I am human, I had a lot of nerves inside and sometimes it is very difficult to control yourself when your heart rate is so high. I will work so that it does not happen again. Time to think about NYC!"

Pido perdón porque mi actitud de ayer no fue correcta y es algo que no debería hacerse dentro de una pista. Soy humano, tenía acumulación de nervios dentro y a veces es muy complicado controlarse cuando estás con las pulsaciones tan altas. Trabajaré para que no vuelva a… pic.twitter.com/YR0dRJhTxX

Cameron Norrie announced on Friday his withdrawal from the 2024 US Open due to a forearm injury.

The Brit, who sits at No. 47 in the PIF ATP Rankings, has not played since mid-July at the Nordea Open in Bastad, where he lost to Rafael Nadal 6-4, 6-4 in Nadal’s first event back from injury.

The British No. 2 missed representing Team GB at the Paris 2024 Olympics due to the injury.

Play has started at the Cincinnati Open on Friday after rain caused a one-hour, 20-minute delay.

The action began at 12:20 p.m. local time, with WTA star Iga Swiatek opening play on center court against Marta Kostyuk. Carlos Alcaraz will resume his match against Gael Monfils following Swiatek. The Spaniard led the Frenchman 6-4, 6-6(1-3) when play was cancelled on Thursday night due to rain.

No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Jannik Sinner will then take on Australian Jordan Thompson in the third round. If Alcaraz overcomes Monfils, he is scheduled to face Holger Rune later on Friday afternoon.

Alexander Zverev has opened proceedings on P&G Grandstand against Pablo Carreno Busta, while Andrey Rublev, Casper Ruud and Ben Shelton are all scheduled to compete on Stadium 3. Rublev plays Brandon Nakashima, Ruud takes on Felix Auger-Aliassime and Shelton meets Fabian Marozsan.

ORDER OF PLAY - FRIDAY, AUGUST 16, 2024
CENTER COURT start 12:00 pm
WTA - [1] I. Swiatek (POL) vs [15] M. Kostyuk (UKR)

Not Before 12:30 pm
Second Round - ATP - G. Monfils (FRA) vs [2] C. Alcaraz (ESP) 46 66
Third Round - ATP - [1] J. Sinner (ITA) vs J. Thompson (AUS)

Not Before 3:00 pm
Third Round - After Suitable Rest - ATP - [15] H. Rune (DEN) vs G. Monfils (FRA) or [2] C. Alcaraz (ESP)
WTA MATCH
Third Round - ATP - F. Tiafoe (USA) vs J. Lehecka (CZE)

Frances Tiafoe survived a late-night scare from Jiri Lehecka at the Cincinnati Open, where the American prevailed 6-4, 6-7(10), 7-6(5) after converting his sixth match point on Friday.

The home favourite let slip three match points in the second-set tie-break and then held a 5-2 lead in the final set. But Lehecka, who was competing this week for the first time since retiring in the Madrid semi-finals due to a back injury, won three consecutive games and eventually forced a deciding-set tie-break.

Tiafoe, who trailed by a mini-break at 2/4 in the third-set tie-break, let out a sigh of relief after clinching the match and wrote, 'Whatever it takes' on the camera lens. He advanced to the quarter-finals after two hours, 52 minutes.

The 26-year-old found an advantage in forehand-to-forehand rallies to remain the more consistent from the baseline. Tiafoe committed 34 unforced errors to Lehecka's 59, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The three-time tour-level titlist overcame the Czech's 24 aces and will next meet another big server, Hubert Hurkacz, in the last eight.

Lehecka, 22, was aiming to build upon his second-round upset against fourth seed Daniil Medvedev.

After back-to-back ATP Masters 1000 events in Montreal and Cincinnati, the ATP Tour moves to Winston-Salem next week for an ATP 250 event.

Plenty of stars will try to secure important PIF ATP Rankings points, including defending champion Sebastian Baez, second seed Jack Draper and third-seeded wild card Francisco Cerundolo.

Make Your Picks Now!

Jack Draper — replacing 20 points
The 22-year-old has enjoyed the best season of his career, earning his first ATP Tour title in Stuttgart. If the British lefty lifts another trophy in Winston-Salem, he will claim plenty of net points given he will be replacing a 20-point entry in his rankings breakdown.

Draper is in form after upsetting Stefanos Tsitsipas in Cincinnati and has long been a dangerous foe on hard courts. His big serve and aggressive game have proven tough for many players to overcome. He is the second seed in Winston-Salem, where his brother, Ben Draper, played a season of college tennis.

Playing under pressure was Friday's doubles theme at the Cincinnati Open, where Jamie Murray and Ivan Dodig dispatched fifth-seeded Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori in a tight 7-5, 7-6(4) contest while three other matches went to a Match Tie-break.

Murray and Dodig are into the last eight and will next face Arthur Fils and Nicolas Jarry.

American wild cards Mackenzie McDonald and Alex Michelsen became the first team to reach the semi-finals after they saved two match points to upset the 2022 titlists Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 6-3, 5-7, 11-9. The third seeds held two consecutive match points on serve at 9/7 in the Match Tie-break before McDonald and Michelsen tallied four consecutive points.

Top seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, who won Montreal last week, defeated Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski 6-7(3), 6-4, 10-6. Seventh seeds Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten, fifth in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Race To Turin, survived Wesley Koolhof and Mate Pavic 6-7(3), 7-6(5), 10-5.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Holger Rune held his nerve in a topsy-turvy third set Friday to pull away from Gael Monfils 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 and advance to the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals. The 15th seed is the first Danish man to reach the last eight in the tournament’s Open Era history.

"It took some patience for sure," said Rune. "I wasn't totally on top of the first set. He was serving big, had to get used to the conditions a little bit. He came from an incredible win earlier, so obviously he was very confident. I had to find my rhythm."

Monfils came flying out of the blocks, building upon his momentum from upsetting second seed Carlos Alcaraz in their rain-hindered match earlier in the day. Rune then gained an advantage by looking for early opportunities to move forward, converting 25 of his 33 net points across the two-hour, 14-minute match.

"I changed a little bit of tactics from the beginning of the second set and I tried to stay on that throughout the whole match, and it seemed to work," said Rune.

Next level net play @CincyTennis ?

1️⃣9️⃣ Volley #WinningPlays by @holgerrune2003 with 1️⃣2️⃣of those coming the crucial 3rd set vs Monfils #WinningPlays:
✅ Highlight a specific winning tactic
✅ Recognise that the "key" shot is not always the winner or the last shot in the… pic.twitter.com/xAdzg0qxgW

Carlos Alcaraz has no shortage of memorable accolades this season, from winning two majors, an ATP Masters 1000 title in Indian Wells and a silver medal at the Paris Olympics. But the Spaniard wants to have no memory of any kind of his second-round loss against Gael Monfils at the Cincinnati Open.

“It's kind of really difficult to find some good stuff from this match. So I want to forget it, and try to move on to New York,” Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference. “I'll go to New York and I'll try to practise well, to get used to those courts. And I will forget this match, because I think it is impossible to get any good things about this match.”

The 21-year-old, who was competing in his first hard-court tournament since Miami in March, held championship point last year in Cincinnati before Novak Djokovic roared back to claim the title in what is largely considered one of the greatest ATP Masters 1000 finals.

Playing his first match in Cincinnati since that near-four hour epic, with hopes of going one step further than last year’s runner-up finish, Alcaraz was instead stunned by the 37-year-old Monfils 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4. The 15-time tour-level titlist spoke candidly in assessing his level.

“I felt like it was the worst match that I ever played in my career,” Alcaraz said. “[I] couldn't play. Honestly, I've been practising really well here in this tournament. The previous days, I was feeling great, hitting the ball clear, moving well. I don't know what happened. I don't know how I felt like this, but I couldn't control myself. I couldn't be better. So this match, it was impossible to win.”

Has Ben Shelton found his newest and biggest fan?

When the 21-year-old American walked onto court to face Tomas Martin Etcheverry on Thursday at the Cincinnati Open, he received the majority of support at his home event.

However, there was one young boy, Gabriel Green, who was cheering loudly for Etcheverry and could not hide his disappointment at the Argentine’s three-set defeat. After the match, Shelton found Gabriel in the crowd at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, where he chatted with the youngster before giving him his headband.

Ben's newest fan likes his headband VERY MUCH?@BenShelton #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/OKdqcVqEjf

A day later and Gabriel was courtside again, but this time wearing Shelton's headband and loudly supporting the 12th seed, who defeated Fabian Marozsan to reach the quarter-finals on Friday.

Ben Shelton earned his career-best 30th match win of the season and advanced to his second ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final Friday at the Cincinnati Open.

The 12th-seeded American made a rocky start, but leaned on his hefty first serve to dig him out of trouble and defeat Hungarian Fabian Marozsan 6-4, 6-3 amidst windy conditions. Shelton is set to face third seed Alexander Zverev in a blockbuster quarter-final.

“It was a really rough start of the match, pretty windy,” said Shelton, who committed 18 unforced errors to Marozsan’s 29. “It felt like every ball off his racquet was coming really, really fast. He was hitting some nukes and it took me a little while to speed up and adjust, but once I got rolling in the second set, I started to feel really confident.”

After the opening set featured three breaks of serve, Shelton lifted his aggression and drew on his home support. He dropped just two points behind his first delivery in the second set to advance after one hour, nine minutes and sealed the match with a net-cord winner, for which he apologised when embracing Marozsan at net.

The 21-year-old lefty, No. 14 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is the youngest American man to reach the Cincinnati quarters since 20-year-old Jared Donaldson in 2017. Shelton and Tiafoe are the lone Americans left in the draw as they aim to become the first American male to win Cincinnati since Andy Roddick in 2006.

Gael Monfils earned his biggest win in more than two years on Friday at the Cincinnati Open, where he stunned World No. 3 Carlos Alcaraz 4-6, 7-6(5), 6-4 to capture the ninth Top 3 victory of his career.

Play was cancelled on Thursday night due to rain, with Alcaraz leading Monfils 6-4, 6-6(1/3). However, the Frenchman came out firing upon the resumption, remaining composed to build on his early lead in the tie-break and seal the set on his third set point.

In windy conditions, Monfils was the more consistent in the decider to inflict just an eighth defeat of the year on Alcaraz. The 37-year-old saved all four break points he faced and rode the momentum he had gained in the second-set tie-break to earn his first Top 3 win since he beat then-No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings Daniil Medvedev in March 2022 in Indian Wells.

GLORIOUS GAEL ✨@Gael_Monfils stuns Alcaraz in an epic three set encounter to advance in @CincyTennis !#CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/ANpoZg5eJ8

Alcaraz was competing in his first hard-court match since March in Miami, where he reached the quarter-finals. The 21-year-old has since lifted major trophies at Roland Garros and Wimbledon and won a silver medal at the Paris Olympics.

Alexander Zverev became the 10th player in history to reach 30 ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals on Friday at the Cincinnati Open, where he moved past Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5, 7-6(6).

The third-seeded German recovered from squandering break advantages in both sets to eventually earn his 51st win of the season. Zverev lifted his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome earlier this year and will aim to add to that tally in Ohio, where he next meets Ben Shelton or Fabian Marozsan.

Zverev, who struck 26 winners in his two-hour, five-minute win against Carreno Busta, has fond memories in Cincinnati. The 27-year-old captured the trophy in 2021 and reached the semi-finals last season.

A deep run at the hard-court event will also boost Zverev’s hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. A two-time champion at the year-end event, Zverev is third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

In other action, Andrey Rublev made it two wins in two weeks against Brandon Nakashima. He moved past the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion 7-6(5), 6-1.

Jannik Sinner has advanced to the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open after Jordan Thompson withdrew from their scheduled third-round match Friday with a rib injury.

The World No. 1 in the PIF ATP Rankings will now get the opportunity to avenge last week's loss to Andrey Rublev in Montreal. The World No. 6 defeated Sinner 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 in the quarter-finals, snapping a three-match losing streak to the Italian.

Sinner leads their Lexus ATP Head2Head series 5-3.

Sinner, who is chasing his first title since winning the ATP 500 in Halle on grass in June, defeated American qualifier Alex Michelsen 6-4, 7-5 in his opening-round match in Cincinnati.

Last week Sinner became the first player to qualify for November's Nitto ATP Finals in Turin.

Carlos Alcaraz has a nervous night of sleep ahead after his second-round match with Gael Monfils was left balancing on a knife’s edge Thursday night when rain cancelled play for the night.

Alcaraz took the first set 6-4 but found himself down 1/3 in the second-set tie-break when players were forced from the court. The match will resume Friday not before 12:30 p.m., with the winner needing to pull double duty later in the day against 15th seed Holger Rune.

Playing his first hard-court tournament since Miami in March, and his first event since winning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, the 21-year-old Alcaraz saved a set point on serve at 5-6 in the second set to force a tie-break.

The World No. 3 in the PIF ATP Rankings leads Monfils 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Seventh seed Casper Ruud and Felix Auger-Aliassime are yet to begin their second-round match, which will now be played Friday. The winner will then return to court later to face Jack Draper.

Arthur Fils and Nicolas Jarry earned a hard-fought victory Thursday at the Cincinnati Open, where they overcame second seeds Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden 6-4, 6-7(5), 10-8 to reach the quarter-finals.

Teaming for the second consecutive week, Fils and Jarry, who lost in the Montreal first round, saved the two break points they faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.Bopanna and Ebden, fourth in the PIF ATP Live Doubles To Turin, led 8/6 in the Match Tie-break before Fils and Jarry tallied four consecutive points to advance.

Rohan Bopanna and Matthew Ebden during Thursday's action in Cincinnati. Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour

The French-Chilean duo will meet fifth seeds Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori or Ivan Dodig and Jamie Murray in the last eight.

In other Match Tie-break action, Hugo Nys and Jan Zielinski downed defending champions Maximo Gonzalez and Andres Molteni 3-6, 7-5, 10-5 while Neal Skupski and Michael Venus defeated sixth seeds Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 6-3, 2-6, 10-4.

Jack Draper survived a three-set thriller Thursday at the Cincinnati Open, where he fought off ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 6-4, 7-5 to reach the Round of 16.

The Greek Tsitsipas broke for 5-4 in the deciding set, but faltered to serve out the match in a dramatic tenth game. Tsitsipas lost a first serve when he received a time violation at 0/30. He then double faulted, giving Draper three break points, but the 22-year-old lefty only needed one forehand pass to level the set and deflate Tsitsipas’ momentum. Draper won the final three games to advance.

“Since coming from the Olympics I haven't found my best tennis... but I've been trying to find a way and I showed my grit and determination to come through today,” Draper said. “Each day I get an opportunity to come out and play again the better I feel. I feel great physically and look forward to keep it going.”

Draper now leads Tsitsipas 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The Stuttgart champion also beat the 11-time tour-level titlist at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event in 2022.

"Stefanos is such a tough competitor, so I had to be there every point and be ready to compete,” said Draper, who committed 24 unforced errors to Tsitsipas’ 38. “Losing my service and then coming back in the final three games means the world to me and helps a lot mentally."

Andrey Rublev and Brandon Nakashima continued their impressive form on Thursday at the Cincinnati Open, where they both earned wins to reach the third round and set a Montreal rematch.

Rublev overcame Chinese star Zhang Zhizhen 6-4, 6-3 to clinch his fifth win in six matches. The No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings reached his second ATP Masters 1000 final of the season in Montreal last week and quickly adjusted to the conditions in Ohio against Zhang.

Rublev hammered 23 winners and committed just five unforced errors to triumph after 61 minutes, improving to 3-0 in the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series.

Forehand ? in Cincinnati!@tennis_insights | #ShotQuality pic.twitter.com/F1pSJqIBGn

Rublev, who is chasing his third title of the season this week, will next play Nakashima after the American defeated #NextGenATP Frenchman Arthur Fils  7-5, 7-6(3) in one hour and 50 minutes.