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Sinner beats Tiafoe to clinch courageous Cincinnati title

Jannik Sinner has shown the world the incredible tennis he is capable of. But it was grit and determination that he relied on to capture the Cincinnati Open title.

After battling through back-to-back three-setters against Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev, the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings surged past home favourite Frances Tiafoe 7-6(4), 6-2 on Monday evening to lift the trophy at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

“It was a very difficult week, tough week. I’m very happy about about today’s match,” Sinner said in his on-court interview. “It was very tough mentally. Had such an amazing run here, and I tried to do my best today. We both were quite tired from yesterday. We both felt a lot of tension, but I’m very glad about [the] level I played today, especially in the important moments.”

The 23-year-old overcame Tiafoe in one hour and 37 minutes to move to 15-4 in tour-level finals. He now owns an ATP Tour-leading five trophies this season following triumphs in Melbourne, Rotterdam, Miami and Halle, and is the only player to claim two ATP Masters 1000 crowns in 2024.

𝐔𝐍𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐏𝐏𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄 😤@janniksin is your 2024 Cincinnati Open CHAMPION 🏆@CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/fHpUu188Sn

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 19, 2024

This week was the perfect example of a champion finding a way to win despite not being at his absolute sharpest. The Italian was seemingly hampered by his hip, at times favouring it and limping between points.

But when Sinner needed to, he produced jaw-dropping ball-striking to knock down every challenge in front of him. He played a tie-break fitting of his top seed to take the lead against a resurgent Tiafoe, who also persevered to reach the final, saving two match points in his semi-final against Holger Rune.

From there, the American had no answer for Sinner’s baseline play. Tiafoe missed a forehand long in the first game of the second set to relinquish the first service break of the match, and he was never able to regain touch with his opponent.

“It has been a tough week, some ups and downs, which is normal to have,” Sinner said. “But how I handled the very important moments in each match, I’m very happy.”

As the match wore on, Sinner grew increasingly confident and laced multiple forehand winners down the line on the run. It seemed everything he touched on that wing turned to gold on centre court. The harder he swung, the more the ball landed in.

The Italian made clear the focal point of his season was the Paris Olympics, from which he withdrew due to tonsillitis. Then when he lost in the Montreal quarter-finals to Andrey Rublev and his hip acted up, it was unclear how quickly the season’s first Nitto ATP Finals qualifier would bounce back.

But after rallying from a set down to Rublev in the quarter-finals and finding a way past Zverev to avoid a fifth consecutive Lexus ATP Head2Head loss to the German, Sinner found his stride.

The World No. 1 survived and then thrived to become the youngest Cincinnati champion since Andy Murray emerged victorious in Ohio as a 21-year-old in 2008. Sinner also extended his lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin to 1,440 points over second-placed Carlos Alcaraz.

Instead of arriving at the US Open wondering about his form, Sinner will now take confidence knowing he persevered in Cincinnati without his very best game to claim his third Masters 1000 title.

”Now, for sure, it’s important to recover, to be to be ready for New York. This is our main goal here for this U.S. swing,” Sinner said. “I’m very happy to be in a position where I am and just trying to keep going mentally, having this hunger to keep playing, and hopefully I can show some good tennis also New York.”

Tiafoe began the week with a 19-18 record for his season. But under the tutelage of new coach David Witt, the American thrilled his home crowd and defeated three Top 20 players en route to his maiden Masters 1000 final.

“I’ve been struggling for a really long time so to have a week like this really means a lot,” Tiafoe said to his team during the trophy ceremony. “You guys know how tough it’s been for me for a while, so to have a week like this is great… Let’s stay with it.”

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Sinner surges in battle for year-end No. 1, but Alcaraz within striking distance

Jannik Sinner has taken a sizable lead in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin by winning the Cincinnati Open, but the battle for ATP Year-End No. 1 presented by PIF honours is far from over.

The 23-year-old is in pole position for the accolade with just three months remaining in the season. But with this year’s Roland Garros and Wimbledon champion Carlos Alcaraz 1,440 points behind the Italian, there is still plenty to play for with the US Open coming up next week.

PIF ATP Live Race To Turin

Sinner, who became the first player from his country to reach World No. 1 earlier this year, has given himself a cushion in the Live Race. If he reaches the semi-finals in New York, he will remain in first place regardless of any other player’s performance at the season’s final major.

What the Italian has done by winning Cincinnati has put pressure on Alcaraz and third-placed Alexander Zverev, who is 245 points behind him, to make a huge run at Flushing Meadows in an attempt to close the gap.

Alcaraz and Zverev are the only players who could pass Sinner in the Live Race by the end of the US Open. Both men would need to capture the trophy to have a chance of doing so.

Entering the Cincinnati Open, Sinner was just 450 points ahead of Alcaraz, making the margins razor thin. But because Alcaraz lost in the second round at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, he only earned 10 points to Sinner’s 1,000 for lifting the trophy. Instead of the Spaniard leaving Cincinnati in first, which was possible, Sinner is now 1,440 points ahead of him.

As quickly as the momentum shifted in Ohio, it can do the same in New York, where the champion will earn 2,000 points.

Alex de Minaur, who has not competed since Wimbledon due to a hip injury, holds the eighth and final qualifying spot with 2,905 points. The Australian is trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time. Ninth-placed Stefanos Tsitsipas, the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion, is just 180 points behind (2,725).

Paris Olympics gold medalist Novak Djokovic is seventh in the Live Race, 4,240 points behind first-placed Sinner. The Serbian is in good position to qualify for the year-end championships for the 17th time.

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Sabalenka wins first title since Australian Open

Aryna Sabalenka wins her first title since January’s Australian Open by powering past Jessica Pegula in the final of the Cincinnati Open.

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#NextGenATP Shang storms into R2 in Winston-Salem

Shang Juncheng did not take long to kick-start his campaign at the Winston-Salem Open.

The Chinese #NextGenATP star marked his debut appearance at the hard-court ATP 250 with a commanding 6-2, 6-1 triumph against Francisco Comesana on Monday afternoon. Shang won 10 of the final 11 games to wrap a 69-minute win and set a second-round showdown with seventh seed Mariano Navone.

After winning 80 per cent (24/30) of points behind his first serve against Comesana, according to Infosys ATP Stats, Shang improved to 20-23 for the season. The 19-year-old lefty has enjoyed a breakout year on the ATP Tour in 2024, during which he has reached semi-finals in Hong Kong and Atlanta and risen as high as No. 73 in the PIF ATP Rankings.

With his victory against Comesana on Monday, Shang has also boosted his hopes of reaching the season-ending Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF for the first time. He is currently third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, with only Arthur Fils and Alex Michelsen ahead of him.

Meanwhile a contestant at the past two editions of the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF, Dominic Stricker, enjoyed a breakthrough of his own on Monday in Winston-Salem. The 22-year-old downed Federico Coria 7-5, 6-2 to notch his first tour-level win of the season.

Stricker Strikes 🎯@DominicStricker opens the day with a 7-5 6-2 win over Coria!@WSOpen pic.twitter.com/TcaGjqI0FV

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 19, 2024

The Swiss lefty Stricker reached a career-high No. 88 in the PIF ATP Rankings last October, but he did not compete for the first five months of this year due to a back injury. After beating Coria for his first Top 100 win since he upset Casper Ruud in Basel last October, Stricker will next prepare for a second-round clash against 10th seed Lorenzo Sonego.

Alexandre Muller was also an early winner on Monday in North Carolina. The Frenchman defeated his countryman Constant Lestienne 6-3, 6-2 to advance to face 15th seed Pavel Kotov.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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GB's Watson, Jubb & Kartal win in US Open qualifiers

Britain’s Heather Watson, Paul Jubb and Sonay Kartal make it through the first round of qualifying for the US Open.

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Arevalo/Pavic march to Cincinnati crown

Marcelo Arevalo and Mate Pavic charged into the ATP Masters 1000 winners’ circle together in style on Monday at the Cincinnati Open.

The fourth-seeded duo eased past home favourites Mackenzie McDonald and Alex Michelsen 6-2, 6-4 in the championship match in Ohio. Arevalo and Pavic did not face a break point and converted three of five of their own, according to Infosys ATP Stats, as they sealed their fourth tour-level title as a team in just 63 minutes.

🏆 Cincinnati Doubles Champions! 🏆

No. 4 seeds Pavic and Arevalo defeat McDonald/Michelsen 6-2 6-4!@CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/OEcPhxLAJd

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 19, 2024

“It’s never easy in the finals, especially [against] those guys,” said Pavic. “They won a couple of great matches this week, they beat the number one seed, [who] for me at the moment are maybe in the best shape on tour, so they proved they can beat anybody in doubles. They are good singles guys, good players so it was not easy.

“It was a bit of a different matchup, we didn’t know what to expect, we didn’t seen them playing that much, compared to when we played the other doubles teams. We were playing smart, we were playing good [doubles] from the beginning and throughout the week we were playing some good tennis.”

It was the first Masters 1000 crown that Arevalo and Pavic have won together. Since first teaming in January, the pair has also won a Grand Slam title at Roland Garros and two ATP 250 crowns in Hong Kong and Geneva, respectively.

“We have been playing the whole year, so we started playing well and then we had a little bit of ups and downs, but we kept believing, we kept working together as a team, with our coaches and everything,” reflected Arevalo. “After that we started getting better results and now we are feeling confident together, we have good communication.

“I’ve always said it’s super important in a doubles team to have a good vibe on and off the court and I think that’s something that we [have been] doing pretty well for the last [few] months. It takes a lot of work, a lot of dedication and we are just happy that we were able [to win] and we were lucky to get through this match and the title as well.”

With Monday’s victory, Arevalo became the first titlist from El Salvador in Cincinnati tournament history. He and Pavic also consolidated second place in the PIF ATP Live Doubles Rankings. They are now just 460 points behind leaders Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, whom McDonald and Michelsen upset in the semi-finals in Cincinnati.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Van Assche leads French charge in US Open R1 Qualifying

#NextGen ATP Frenchman Luca Van Assche sailed past veteran Pablo Cuevas 6-2, 6-1 Monday to advance to the second round of qualifying at the US Open.

Eighteen years younger than his opponent, Van Assche converted five of 10 break points to dispatch the 38-year-old Uruguayan as he bids to make a second main draw appearance at Flushing Meadows, where he lost in the first round on debut last year.

The 20-year-old is currently No. 111 in the PIF ATP Rankings, having slipped from No. 65 a year ago. He is currently fifth in the PIF ATP Race to Jeddah as he aims to return to the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF for the second consecutive year.

Van Assche led the French charge on Day 1 of qualifying, with Richard Gasquet, Lucas Pouille and Harold Mayot all advancing.

Gasquet hopes to make his 20th main draw appearance at Flushing Meadows this year. His best result came in 2013 when he reached the semi-finals, losing to Rafael Nadal in straight sets.

Pouille will aim to replicate his qualifying success at Wimbledon earlier this year, where he won all three matches to make the main draw. The former No. 10 in the PIF ATP Rankings will face countryman Mayot in the next round, who is trying to advance through qualifying for the first time this year, having fallen in the qualifying rounds at both the Australian Open and Wimbledon.  

Former US Open quarter-finalist Diego Schwartzman also progressed to the second qualifying round following his 7-5, 6-3 win over Andrea Pellegrino. Earlier this year, the Argentine announced that he will retire after the Argentina Open in 2025, making this his final US Open. He faces fellow Argentine Thiago Agustin Tirante in the next round.

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Safiullin survives two championship points, wins Cary Challenger

Top seed Roman Safiullin made a dramatic comeback Saturday at the Cary Tennis Classic, where he saved two championship points to claim his fifth ATP Challenger Tour title.

The 27-year-old escaped Mattia Bellucci 1-6, 7-5, 7-5 in the final, during which the Italian qualifier led 6-1, 4-1. Safiullin stared down two championship points on serve at 4-5 in the second set, but found a way to turn around the match and lift the trophy after two hours, 53 minutes. Appearing to fade physically in the latter stages, Safiullin let out a sigh of relief when he converted his eighth championship point.

“I just decided to put the ball back [in play], try to let him win it and he made some mistakes and I played some good balls. At the end of the match, I was able to turn it around,” Safiullin told commentator Rob Werner.

“It was super humid today. It was really tough with the conditions, but I’m happy that I managed it. It was a very good test for me ahead of New York, because New York is going to be similar conditions.”

Following his title run, Safiullin is up seven places to No. 57 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. He was playing just his fifth Challenger event since September 2022.

Now 5-0 in Challenger finals, Safiullin is the sixth player inside the Top 70 to win a title this year at that level. Safiullin last year became the first player since Nick Kyrgios in 2014 to win a Challenger title and reach the Wimbledon quarter-finals in the same season.

In other Challenger action, Damir Dzumhur became the first player this season to win four trophies at that level with his triumph at the RD Open 2024 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. The 32-year-old defeated Ecuador’s lucky loser Andres Andrade 6-4, 6-4 in the final.

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/18/19/23/dzumhur-santodomingoch-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Damir Dzumhur in action at the Santo Domingo Challenger.” />
^{Damir Dzumhur in action at the Santo Domingo Challenger. Credit: Gabriela Ascuasiati}

Dzumhur won the inaugural edition of the Santo Domingo Challenger in 2015 and nine years later, the Bosnian returned to the winners’ circle for his 12th Challenger crown.

Coming into the tournament, the former World No. 23 returned to the Top 100 for the first time in four-and-a-half years. Dzumhur is up to No. 81 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, setting him up for his highest ranking since June 2019.

Swiss Marc-Andrea Huesler dropped just one set all week at the Kozerki Open in Poland, where he raced past top seed Vit Kopriva 6-1, 6-4 in the final. The 29-year-old earned his sixth Challenger title and first since April 2022.

“I served well this week, played lots of good tennis and was able to save lots of break points. That helped,” said Huesler, who dropped serve once all week, having saved nine of the 10 break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats. “In the final, as soon as I got a bit tight, my first serve was there, so that really helped me to get through the week. It also allows me to be more aggressive on return and take a couple risks.

“I was not really expecting a lot this week because I didn’t really have a hard court preparation. I saw that when your expectations are low, then at the end of the week, you are standing here as the winner.”

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/18/19/33/huesler-grodziskmazowieckich-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Marc-Andrea Huesler poses with the Grodzisk Mazowiecki ballkids affter the trophy ceremony.” />
^{Marc-Andrea Huesler poses with the Grodzisk Mazowiecki ballkids affter the trophy ceremony. Credit: Kozerki Open}

Carlos Taberner went one step further than his previous week’s runner-up finish in Cordenons with a triumph at the Internazionali di Tennis Citta di Todi Sidernestor Tennis Cup. The Spaniard’s consistency helped him down Argentine Santiago Rodriguez Taverna 6-4, 6-3 in the final to score his seventh ATP Challenger Tour title.

“Very happy to get this title. Maybe by score, the final was the only match of my last three that I won in two sets, but it was not easy,” Taberner said. “It was very, very difficult. I’m very happy because I think the whole time I played the same level.”

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/18/19/29/taberner-todich-2024.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Carlos Taberner celebrates winning the Challenger 75 event in Todi, Italy.” />
^{Carlos Taberner celebrates winning the Challenger 75 event in Todi, Italy. Credit: Yuri Serafini}

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Sinner beats Zverev to reach Cincinnati Open final

World number one Jannik Sinner overcomes Alexander Zverev in a three-set thriller to reach the final of the Cincinnati Open.

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Tiafoe saves 2 MPs, stuns Rune to reach Cincinnati final

Frances Tiafoe reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final in dramatic fashion on Sunday at the Cincinnati Open.

The American rallied from a 2-5 deficit in the third set of his semi-final against Holger Rune and saved two match points on serve at 4-5 before rallying past the 15th seed 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(4). Tiafoe will face Jannik Sinner, the No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, on Monday for the trophy.

“Crazy, crazy. That last set was nuts,” Tiafoe said in his on-court interview. “It got pretty breezy there at the end so we were kind of just playing the percentages. But yeah, I got really lucky there. I had a couple net cords, but I also battled. I competed really hard and put myself in position.”

🌟 The dream is still alive 🌟@FTiafoe takes out Rune with a 4-6 6-1 7-6 win to face Sinner in the #CincyTennis final!@CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/v1Ip4lREMk

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 19, 2024

Tiafoe began the week with a 19-18 record on the season. But he has found form in a big way under the tutelage of new coach David Witt, becoming the first American to reach the Cincinnati final since John Isner in 2013.

With his victory, Tiafoe ascended to No. 20 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings. When the new PIF ATP Rankings are released, there will be five Americans — Taylor Fritz, Sebastian Korda, Tommy Paul, Ben Shelton and Tiafoe — inside the Top 20 for the first time since the week of 24 February 1997.

The fans’ favourite was just millimetres from losing. On the first match point he faced at 4-5, Tiafoe hit a forehand that clipped the top of the net and just popped over to stave off elimination. Rune had another opportunity to close out the match, but missed a backhand return.

“At 5-3 I played a really tough game, made returns. The luck goes on your side sometimes. Those net cords made a huge, huge difference,” Tiafoe said. “Saved one of my match points like that. But in the breaker I came up with some good shots, man. I played well, hit some good serves early, didn’t serve great at the end. But I battled, I battled and he got a little tight. One thing led to another and here we are.”

From there, momentum was firmly in the American’s corner. Rune has one of the best backhands in the world, but Tiafoe was willing to trade blows off that side and often came out better in those rallies.

The three-time ATP Tour titlist hit a sensational curling backhand passing shot crosscourt to take a 6/3 lead in the final-set tie-break and was able to seal his victory after two hours and nine minutes.

Tiafoe hit 13 aces and saved four of the six break points he faced according to Infosys ATP Stats. The key was second-serve success — the unseeded American won 61 per cent of those points and Rune only managed to capture 46 per cent of them.

Sinner leads Tiafoe 3-1 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series and this will be their first match of the season. They most recently clashed last year in Vienna, where the Italian won 6-3, 6-4. With that in mind, the American said that the top seed is the favourite, but he is excited for the opportunity to battle in front of the Cincinnati fans.

“Absolutely, for sure he is, right? He’s lost like [five] matches all year? He’s the favourite in every match he plays, no question about it,” Tiafoe said. “You’ve got to tip your hat to a guy like him.”

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