Jannik Sinner, the top seed at the Cincinnati Masters, overcame eight break points to secure a 6-4, 7-5 victory over U.S. qualifier Alex Michelsen on Wednesday. The Italian world number one, who turns 23 on Friday, is seeking to surpass his previous best of reaching the third round at this venue. This win marks Sinner’s 25th of the season and makes him the first player to reach the third round in the ATP-WTA tournament, the final major warm-up before the US Open.
Despite his success, Sinner admitted he wasn’t at his best, stating, “I’m not yet at 100%, but the main goal is the US Open. I have one week after Cincinnati to prepare as best as I can. The matches I play here will help at the Open.”
Ninth seed Stefano Tsitsipas, playing his first match since parting ways with his father as coach, staged a dramatic comeback to defeat Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6, 6-4, 6-3. Tsitsipas, who trailed by a set and 3-1, rallied with a strong finish, hitting a pair of aces to seal his victory. He ended with 31 winners, while Struff struggled with 48 unforced errors and 10 double-faults.
Seventh seed Casper Ruud will face Felix Auger-Aliassime in the second round after Auger-Aliassime’s 6-3, 6-1 win over U.S. qualifier Aleksandar Kovacevic. Eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov, the 2017 champion, will start against Fabian Marozsan, who defeated Corentin Moutet 6-3, 7-6 (7/1).
Dane Holger Rune secured his first career match win at Cincinnati with a 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 comeback against former top-10 player Matteo Berrettini, ending Berrettini’s 10-match winning streak.
In the women’s draw, Paula Badosa advanced to the second round by defeating Cincinnati local Peyton Stearns 6-2, 7-5. Badosa will next face 13th seed Anna Kalinskaya, who came back to win 1-6, 6-2, 6-3 against Katerina Siniakova.
