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Cincinnati, OH, USA, 17 August 2017 | AAP

Nick Kyrgios has fought back to beat Ukraine’s Alexandr Dolgopolov and advance to the third round of the Cincinnati Masters.

Kyrgios recovered from dropping an early break in the first set to win 6-3 7-6(6) in a match which saw both players bemused to learn they had been serving with women’s balls for six points.

While the balls used on the men’s and women’s tour generally have the same size and pressure, the men usually use extra-duty felt to slow the speed of the ball down while the women use regular-duty balls which have a different logo.

16 August 2017 | tennis.com.au

Former world No.53 Sam Groth is feeling good about his game as he targets a strong showing in US Open qualifying.

The Australian, in his latest “My Tennis Life” column for Tennis Channel, detailed his most recent results on the ATP Challenger tour which have pushed him up from No.240 in early June to his current ranking of 174th.

Groth’s last week reached the semifinals in Aptos, California; prior to that he made the second round at the ATP grasscourt event in Newport as a qualifier.

Melbourne VIC, Australia, 16 August 2017 | tennis.com.au

Sam Stosur’s comeback from a hand injury has hit another hurdle with the Australian withdrawing from the WTA Connecticut Open in New Haven.

The Australian, who hasn’t played since suffering a stress fracture in her right hand at Roland Garros, was due to make her comeback next week at the US Open tune-up event, held at the Connecticut Tennis Center at Yale.

Stosur still hopes to return to action at the US Open, where she was a champion in 2011.

Cincinnati, OH, USA, 16 August 2017 | AAP

Nick Kyrgios is into the second round of the Cincinnati Masters ATP event, grimacing and limping his way to a 6-2 6-3 win over Belgium’s David Goffin.

Kyrgios served 10 aces in the 66-minute victory, but appeared to still be struggling with fitness as he works his way back from a hip injury that led to him withdrawing from defending his title at the Atlanta Open in July.

The 22-year-old Australian won the first set after 31 minutes and despite the world No.23 at times struggling with his movement, it was his world No.13 opponent who called for the trainer at the end of the set.

Cincinnati, OH, USA, 16 August 2017 | AAP

Ashl Barty beat Varvara Lepchenko 6-4 6-4 on Tuesday to progress to the second round at the Cincinnati WTA event.

Australian Barty, the world No.48, needed one hour and 24 minutes to beat her American opponent in their first career meeting. Both women earned a start in the tournament through qualifying.

Barty will now play No.9 seed Venus Williams in the second round, after Williams beat fellow American Alison Riske 6-2 6-0, also on Tuesday.