Top-ranked Jannik Sinner on Sunday outlasted Alexander Zverev in a third-set tiebreaker to reach the Cincinnati Open final, while world No. 1 Iga Swiatek fell to world No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka in the women’s semi-finals.
Sinner emerged with a 7-6 (11/9), 5-7, 7-6 (7/4) victory after 3 hours, 7 minutes, tying Casper Ruud for the ATP Tour lead by reaching his fifth final of the season.
In the late match in Mason, Ohio, the US’ Frances Tiafoe rallied to beat 15th-seeded Holger Rune 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/4).
Photo: AFP
Sinner leads the tour with four titles this season. Zverev, the No. 4 seed, had won four straight meetings against Sinner, who finished with a 124-121 edge in total points.
The first set against Zverev lasted more than an hour and the match was suspended for 30 minutes by rain.
“I think we both raised our level when it counted,” Sinner said. “The tiebreaker can go both ways... Obviously, I’m happy to be in the final.”
Photo: AFP
Sinner, who has had a right hip issue, was seen grabbing it early in the match, but said he came through fine physically.
“Sometimes I feel it,” Sinner said. “I have to check after this tournament here. I haven’t had too much time to recover before coming here. I’m not worried yet. I’m happy to play.”
Sabalenka reached the final in Cincinnati for the first time with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Swiatek, ending the five-time Grand Slam winner’s 15-match winning streak and avenging losses in the finals in Madrid and Rome.
“Really happy with the win, especially against Iga, who is always a tough battle,” Sabalenka said. “To get the win in straight sets, that’s kind of an achievement for me.”
Swiatek, who has been on top of the WTA rankings for 116 weeks, was satisfied with her week.
“I pretty much did better than I expected, honestly, especially on this surface,” Swiatek said. “I’m happy with the result anyway, and already focusing on what I need to do to feel even better in New York.”
The US Open begins on Monday next week.
Swiatek won the title in 2022.
Jessica Pegula, the No. 6 seed, beat Paula Badosa 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 after their semi-final was suspended for more than an hour by rain.
She is the third American to reach the finals in Canada — where she successfully defended her title on Monday last week — and Cincinnati in a calendar year, and the first since Serena Williams in 2013.
“We’ve had a lot of great battles in the past,” Sabalenka said. “Going to be another great match.”
Also in Ohio, Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and Japan’s Miyu Kato lost their round-of-16 women’s doubles match at Tennis in the Land in Cleveland. The top seeds were defeated 7-6 (7/2), 2-6, 10-8 by sisters Ivana and Carmen Corley.
Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien and Russia’s Yana Sizikova were defeated 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 10-7 by China’s Xu Yifan and Spain’s Cristina Bucsa.
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