Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday was halted by rain on the brink of victory, while defending women’s champion Coco Gauff crashed out in her first match at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open and Taiwanese there and in Colombia also exited.
Spaniard Alcaraz, the reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion, led France’s Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-6 (1/3) when rain halted play at the last major tuneup for the US Open, which is to start on Aug. 26.
Top seed Alcaraz, who lost to Novak Djokovic in last year’s Cincinnati final, took a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, also dropping that final to Djokovic.
Photo: Susan Mullane-USA Today
Alcaraz is back on hardcourt for the first time since winning the Miami Open. He skipped last week’s ATP Montreal Masters.
Men’s third seed Alexander Zverev, the 2021 champion from Germany, won his ATP-leading 50th match this season, dispatching Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-2 in a repeat of his Tokyo Olympic final win.
Zverev, feeling poorly last week in Montreal, said his form is much improved.
Photo: Susan Mullane-USA Today
“I felt well on court. If you feel good in training it’s easier to bring it to the match,” he said. “I just hope my form can get better. I’m happy I got the win today.”
Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta is to play him next after defeating Australian Max Purcell 6-3, 6-3.
Briton Jack Draper accounted for ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. The Greek served for the match leading 5-4 in the third set, but Draper won 12 of the last 14 points to turn the situation on its head.
Holger Rune defeated Portugal’s top player Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-6 (10/8).
Gauff was eliminated earlier in a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 upset loss to Kazakh spoiler Yulia Putintseva.
A disappointed Gauff will go back to the drawing board before defending her US Open crown.
Putintseva, ranked 34th, has made a recent habit of upsets, knocking off top-ranked Iga Swiatek barely a month ago at Wimbledon.
“I’m really proud of myself,” Putintseva said. “These courts are so fast, you have to just play on instinct. That’s what I did.”
Gauff became Cincinnati’s youngest champion a year ago at age 19 and carried that success into her first Grand Slam triumph at the US Open.
“I have to work on consistency overall,” Gauff said. “I’m making a lot of unforced errors, especially when I was up 4-2” in the third set, Gauff said. “Most of the points [that Putintseva won] were off [my] errors. She’s tricky to play, mixes up the ball and likes drop shots. She makes you earn the match.”
Putintseva next faces Spain’s Paula Badosa, who defeated Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2.
Third seed Aryna Sabalenka polished her opening-match record at the event by defeating Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3, 6-4.
Sabalenka missed Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics with a right shoulder injury, but said that she feels well.
“I’m happy with my level in the tough moments,” Sabalenka said. “Elisabetta is a difficult opponent. She fought to the last point.”
In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei bowed out in the round-of-16.
Briton Harriet Dart and Ellen Perez of Australia eliminated Hsieh and Elise of Mertens Belgium 6-3, 7-5.
At the Barranquilla Open in Colombia, Ingrid Gamarra Martins of Brazil and the US’ Quinn Gleason beat Taiwan’s Liang En-shuo and Prarthana Thombare of India 6-2, 6-4 in their quarter-final at Parque Distrital de Raquetas.
Additional reporting by staff writer
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