No. 1 seed Jannik Sinner of Italy got some revenge against sixth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev on Saturday, pulling off a 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 win in the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open in Mason, Ohio.
Rublev was playing as the No. 5 seed when he upset the top-seeded Sinner in the quarterfinals of last week’s National Bank Open in Montreal. Rublev went on to reach the final, where he fell to Australia’s Alexei Popyrin.
It was Sinner who moved on this time, though, as the World No. 1 racked up 32 winners and collected 10 aces to Rublev’s four.
Saturday’s victory didn’t come without adversity for Sinner, who found himself trailing 5-4 in the second set. However, he dominated from there, winning eight of the next nine games, including the final three of the middle set that nearly slipped away.
“It took a lot of mental strength today,” Sinner said. “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.”
Next up for Sinner is Germany’s Alexander Zverev, the No. 3 seed, who beat 12th seed Ben Shelton of the United States on Saturday.
Like Sinner, Zverev had to rally, and he was able to come away with a 3-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 win.
Zverev had to contend with a hostile crowd that was on Shelton’s side and a pair of third-set rain delays to get within two victories of his second career Cincinnati Open title. He also took the men’s singles crown at the tournament in 2021.
Last year, Zverev reached the semifinals in Mason.
Shelton had 14 aces against four double faults in the loss, while Zverev finished with 10 and eight, respectively.
The home crowd still has someone to root for, though, as American Frances Tiafoe made it to the semifinals. Tiafoe prevailed 6-3 in the first set of a match against No. 5 seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, who was forced to retire due to injury.
Tiafoe will face 15th-seeded Holger Rune in the semifinals. The 21-year-old Dane had the easiest time of anyone outside of Tiafoe on Saturday, beating Great Britain’s Jack Draper 6-4, 6-2 in a match that lasted 76 minutes.
In a match where many of the stats were even, it was Rune’s ability to convert break points (3 of 3) that proved to be the difference. Draper also had three break points — all while trailing 3-2 in the second set — but Rune battled back to take the set.
–Field Level Media
