Borna Coric picked up his fifth tour-level win since his March return from shoulder surgery on Wednesday at the Western & Southern Open. But with this one, the former World No. 12 announced that he is back at his best.

The Croatian edged Rafael Nadal 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3 to advance to the third round in Cincinnati, battling for two hours, 51 minutes to secure his biggest win of the season by both opponent and stage. After taking a dramatic first-set tie-break in which both players saved two set points, Coric scored his first break of the match midway through the decider as he dictated play in the final set.

“It has been very, very special,” Coric said of his win on centre court. “I was out for the last two years and I didn’t play on the big stage in front of the crowd and everybody. I was honestly just looking forward to playing this match as I haven’t had that in the last two years. Now that I won, it’s kind of crazy.”

Nadal’s defeat ends his bid for a return to the top spot in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings this week. The World No. 3 will have another chance to leapfrog Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev at the US Open.

Both players opened confidently despite a relative lack of match play — Coric playing his sixth tour-level contest since withdrawing ahead of Wimbledon and Nadal taking the court for the first time since pulling out of the grass-court Slam ahead of the semi-finals.

Nadal made a particularly strong start, pumping his fist after stepping into a down-the-line backhand on the very first point and not committing an unforced error until the seventh game. Coric also settled in quickly with a first-round win against Lorenzo Musetti already under his belt, and he began to enjoy the better of the rallies until a one-hour rain delay came with Nadal leading 5-4.

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When they returned and soon after headed to the tie-break, Nadal roared with the crowd as he battled back from 2/4, but was left to rue a missed swinging volley at 6/5. With Nadal’s double faulted on Coric’s third set point, the Croatian made amends after a botched drop shot on a short ball at 9/8.

Nadal capitalised on the lone break point midway through an entertaining second set, with both players creating stunning angles to complement strong baseline hitting. Both competitors flashed quick hands at the net as well, with each winning 10 of 15 net points.

Coric applied greater pressure in the decider and was a deserved winner after securing his first break of the match to move ahead 4-2. He backed up the breakthrough with a love hold and had no problems serving out the match after opening his final service game with a statement winner to cap a gruelling rally.

He will next face Roberto Bautista Agut, who advanced to the third round with a 6-3, 6-3 win against home hope Marcos Giron earlier on Wednesday.

“It’s going to be a very interesting match,” said Coric, who holds a 5-4 ATP Head2Head series lead against the Spaniard. “I need to be very aggressive for sure, especially because I was playing for a very long time today and I also finished very late. So I’m going to be even more aggressive probably. “

Grigor Dimitrov and Andrey Rublev cashed in on a ruthlessly efficient performance on return to advance to the second round of the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday. The singles stars edged Daniel Evans and John Peers 7-6(5), 7-5, converting on all three of their break chances and winning 86 per cent of their first-serve points. 

Despite failing to serve out the opening set, losing a deciding point at 5-4, the duo regrouped to win the tie-break by taking its final three points. They were again denied on a deciding point in their first attempt to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, but responded with an immediate break back before serving out the win to love.

The pair will next face second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos, who received a bye into the second round.

Holger Rune and Stefanos Tsitsipas also advanced, taking a 6-2, 6-3 decision against David Vega Hernandez and Rafael Matos. Sixth seeds Tim Puetz and Michael Venus join them in the second round after a 6-2, 6-1 win against the Argentine pairing of Francisco Cerundolo and Diego Schwartzman.

In second-round action, Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies saved two match points against Alex de Minaur and Cameron Norrie from 7/9 in a Match Tie-break, winning the final four points of a 4-6, 6-3, 11-9 victory. The two-time Roland Garros champions defeated reigning Miami titlists Hubert Hurkacz and John Isner on Tuesday in the opening round.

Dominic Thiem was awarded a main draw wild card into the US Open, the tournament announced on Wednesday.

The Austrian captured his first Grand Slam title at the US Open in 2020 and owns a 22-6 record at the season’s final major.

The former No. 3 player in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings is working his way back from a wrist injury, which prevented him from defending his title at Flushing Meadows last year.

Also receiving wild cards into the main draw were Americans Sam Querrey, Emilio Nava, JJ Wolf, Ben Shelton and Learner Tien, as well as Frenchman Ugo Humbert and Australian Rinky Hijikata.

Shelton, this year’s NCAA singles champion, has enjoyed a breakthrough run at the Western & Southern Open, where on Wednesday he upset World No. 5 Casper Ruud to reach the third round on his ATP Masters 1000 debut.

The tournament also announced Americans who will receive a qualifying wild card: Murphy Cassone, Oliver Crawford, Martin Damm, Brandon Holt, Aleks Kovacevic, Bruno Kuzuhara, Alex Rybakov, Ethan Quinn and Zachary Svajda.

Gael Monfils, a former semi-finalist in New York, withdrew from the tournament due to an injury he suffered in Montreal.

“Following the latest medical exams that I took upon returning in Europe, I will sadly not be able to play at the US Open this year,” Monfils tweeted. “I am forced to undergo a new period of treatment before being able to resume tournaments.”

Stefanos Tsitsipas put an emphatic end to a two-match losing streak with a strong opening performance on Wednesday at the Western & Southern Open. The Cincinnati third seed rode a dominant serving performance and clean hitting to a 6-3, 6-3 win against Filip Krajinovic to earn his first victory in two events since Wimbledon.

The Greek was downed by Nick Kyrgios in a memorable third-round encounter on the London lawns and fell victim to an upset bid from #NextGenATP Briton Jack Draper last week in Montreal. But after two tough holds to open his Cincinnati campaign, he found a groove on serve and off the ground to power past Krajinovic behind two mid-set breaks.

Tsitsipas scored six love service holds, including each of his final four service games, and dropped just three points on first serve in the one-hour, nine minute match. He finished with a pristine 92 per cent (34/37) win rate on first serve while making 76 per cent of his first deliveries.

In a clean match all around, the Greek hit 28 winners (including 14 aces) to just four unforced errors as he outclassed his opponent on Court 3.

The Cincinnati fourth seed will next face 13th seed Diego Schwartzman, who outlasted Aslan Karatsev 7-6(3), 3-6, 6-2 on Tuesday evening.

John Isner was one point from winning the first set of his second-round match at the Western & Southern Open on Wednesday against eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz when he heard murmurs in the crowd. Naturally, the American turned around.

At 6/3 in the tie-break, Isner did not expect to see a ball boy fainting on the other side of the court. Immediately, the 37-year-old ran to help as best he could. Hurkacz and a woman who identified herself as a doctor also pitched in.

“I don’t think I did anything special,” Isner told ATPTour.com. “I saw Hubi running to the side of the court and it’s a scary thing because he had this ‘he-saw-a-ghost look’ in his face and he collapsed, and luckily someone was there. But I think people need to realise how hard it is what these ball boys and ball girls do. It’s a tough job out there in the heat. We appreciate their effort so much out there.

“From what I hear, the kid is going to be okay and hopefully he’s getting some fluids and in the air conditioning right now resting up. Someone told me that he remembers watching me since he was four years old or something like that, so that’s very cool to hear. But it was definitely a very scary situation and [I am] just glad that he seems to be okay.”

Isner went on to battle past Hurkacz 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-2 in two hours and 32 minutes to reach the third round in Cincinnati. The incident occurred at a pivotal point of the match, but that did not matter to the 16-time ATP Tour titlist.

“It doesn’t really matter what point it’s at,” Isner said. “Tennis is microscopic compared to a scary situation like that, so just glad to see he’s doing okay.”

That was not the only heat-related incident on Wednesday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center. When Felix Auger-Aliassime led Alex de Minaur 2-0, 40/40, play was halted when a fan fell ill.

The players retreated to their chairs at the time. Upon realising what had happened, Auger-Aliassime quickly passed an ice towel through the crowd to the fan and then found a bag of ice as well.

Felix Auger-Aliassime is a fan favourite in Cincinnati.

“She didn’t look well at all. It was worrying. She didn’t look good and I think that’s the first thing: the health of the crowd, the players, everybody involved. You kind of forget about the match when it comes to that point,” Auger-Aliassime said. “You just hope it was nothing too bad, I was a bit scared for her. But luckily everything went fine.

“I think it’s a normal thing as players. We’re there and if we can help just by giving ice for an ice towel, that’s the minimum we can do. But people also came to help pretty quickly and it’s nice to see people acting like this together.”

As focussed as professional tennis players are, they are aware of their surroundings and do not think twice about doing the right thing under such circumstances.

“At the end I’m a human first. I’m a tennis player after,” Auger-Aliassime said. “I come here, there are people who come and see us play and it’s a pleasure to play in front of them. It’s great to get good words from people, to sometimes share a few words if I have time. It’s good energy. I like to get that support and give whatever I can to the people who come and watch.”

Taylor Fritz’s fast start to the Western & Southern Open continued Wednesday with a rapid 6-3, 6-2 second-round victory against the in-form Nick Kyrgios.

In a clash between two of the biggest servers on the ATP Tour, it was the 11th seed Fritz whose delivery proved impenetrable in his 51-minute win at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Cincinnati. The American powered 16 aces and did not face a break point in his first tour-level meeting with Kyrgios, who received treatment on his knee from the physio during the match.

“It feels great to have [my] game come together today,” said Fritz, who improved his record at Masters 1000 tournaments this season to 15-3 with the win. “That’s the kind of match I really needed to give me a lot of confidence going into the next match, going to the US Open, a lot of things are clicking for sure.”

Fritz defeated Sebastian Baez in just 54 minutes in his opening match in Cincinnati, where he is now into the third round for the first time in five appearances. His opponent there will be 2021 finalist Andrey Rublev.

Fab Fritz ✌️ @Taylor_Fritz97 blasts past Nick Kyrgios 6-3 6-2 to reach the last 16 at #CincyTennis for the first time! pic.twitter.com/SOdIdVJJQt

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 17, 2022

After an opening five games largely dominated by serve, it was Fritz who carved out the only break point opportunities of the first set as the American capitalised on string of errors from Kyrgios to break for 4-2. Fritz, who did not drop serve once en route to his third ATP Tour title in Eastbourne in June, offered Kyrgios few opportunities to counter as he eased to the opening set.

As Kyrgios’ increased his speed of play and began to struggle with his knee, Fritz was clinical in racing to the second set by staying solid from deep and maintaining his precise serving. He wrapped up the win having won 86 per cent (30/35) of points behind his first delivery.

“I just focussed on myself,” said Fritz when asked about the speed of play in the second set. “He played with the servers pace… I tried to also play to his pace, if that’s the way he wants to play, it’s fine. I can control the pace on my serve, so all I was thinking was, ‘I’m up a break, just focus.’

“It feels good just to have the rest of the day to kind of relax and focus on the next match.”

INSIGHTS Conversion statistics for the match show how effective Fritz was in taking advantage of strong positions. The American won 76 per cent (19/25) of points when attacking, 16 per cent more than Kyrgios.

Rublev had earlier found a hot streak at just the right moment to grab the momentum in his second-round clash against Fabio Fognini. The World No. 8 reeled off five points in a row from 2/3 to clinch the second-set tie-break and force a decider, and Rublev took charge from that point on, breaking twice in the final set to complete a 6-7(7), 7-6(3), 6-2 victory.

The win moved Rublev into a 6-5 lead in his ATP Head2Head series with Fognini. The 24-year-old reached the final in Cincinnati in 2021, but he enters his third-round matchup with Fritz having fallen to the American at the Masters 1000 events in Paris last November and Indian Wells in March.

No one’s more surprised that he still has a shot at No. 1 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings in 2022 than Rafael Nadal himself.

At the tennis-advanced age of 36, the Spaniard hasn’t played a competitive match in nearly a month and a half, an abdominal tear having forced him out of Wimbledon after a five-set quarter-final escape against American Taylor Fritz. Yet here he is, age-defiant, back in Cincinnati for the first time in half a decade, a 36-time ATP Masters 1000 champion who’s apparently still hungry for more.

Nadal could usurp the top-ranked Daniil Medvedev should he win the title this week, and Medvedev fail to reach the quarter-finals, returning to No. 1 for the first time since January 2020. It’s a battle that will also decide the top seed at the upcoming US Open. 

“It means a lot to me to have that opportunity, something that I never expected could happen again. But here we are,” said Nadal, the No. 2 seed at the Western & Southern Open. “The main thing is to stay healthy and finish the season playing the events that I want to play. I will not play more than what I believe will work well for my body to achieve this goal, but I am going to put all my efforts into every single event that I play. 

“I do that all the time — it doesn’t matter whether I have the chance to be No. 1 or not. But I’m happy to be in this privileged position. If for some reason that happens, it will be amazing.”

The 2013 champion will open against another player fighting his way back into the mix after injury setbacks: 152nd-ranked Borna Coric of Croatia, the former World No. 12 who last year underwent right shoulder surgery. Their ATP Head2Head history stands at an even 2-2, with Coric having claimed a straight-sets, 6-1, 6-3 decision in the fourth round of this same event back in 2016.

“One year ago, I didn’t know if I would ever have a chance to come back to Cincinnati,” said Nadal. “Here I am. I’m excited for that.” 

The Mallorcan, who until his Wimbledon setback had been on track for the ever-elusive calendar-year Grand Slam, having triumphed at both the Australian Open and Roland Garros, says it’s important for him to temper his expectations this week. After all, abdominal tears can be tricky: Every time you reach up for a serve, for an overhead, you’re risking pain, or worse yet, re-injury.

“You need to know that when you come back after a while things aren’t going to be better. You can’t expect to play at an amazing level from the beginning,” he explained. “Knowing that, accepting that, you have to be able to be humble enough to fight with the tools that you have at the beginning to win the first match. In the Masters 1000s, the opponents are very demanding from the beginning.”

The former #NextGen poster boy Coric, 25, has been limited to just 13 tour-level matches in 2022 (5-8). Below that, his best run came on the ATP Challenger Tour, where reached the final in Montechiarugolo-Parma, Italy in June.

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The Day 3 docket also features an intriguing Battle of Britain clash between two-time champion Andy Murray (2008, 2011) and countryman Cameron Norrie. The Davis Cup teammates have only faced each other on one occasion, back in 2019, with Murray claiming a 7-6(6), 6-7(4), 6-1 victory in the Round of 16.

It will mark Murray’s 38th match of 2022, the most he’s played in a season tracing all the way back to 2016.

“It’s not been easy these last few years to stay fit and healthy, and play enough tennis to get matches to learn from and to build confidence and to get my body physically robust enough to compete week in, week out,” said Murray, No. 47 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. “That’s a positive thing that I got to play lots of matches, or more matches this year. Hopefully, I can continue that through the end of the season.”

The 11th-ranked Norrie is seeking his third title of the year, having prevailed in Delray Beach and Lyon.  When Murray joined the 700-wins club earlier this year in Indian Wells, Norrie observed: “It’s incredible given everything he’s been through, all the setbacks that he’s had, and he’s still waking up every day and going for it, leaving it all on the table. 

“That stands out more — his attitude, his love and passion for the game. For me, it’s more impressive than all those wins. That speaks for itself, all the titles, all those wins, getting to No. 1, finishing No. 1 for the year. That’s sick. He’s a legend of the game. But what’s more outstanding is that attitude that he has and brings on a day-to-day basis.”

Several rising Americans will also be in action at the Linder Family Tennis Center on Wednesday. The BNP Paribas Open champ Fritz will face the streaking Aussie Nick Kyrgios for the first time; Frances Tiafoe will put his perfect 3-0 ATP Head2Head against compatriot Sebastian Korda on the line; and scuffling Canadian Denis Shapovalov will do his best to right his ship (he’s dropped nine of his past 10 matches) against World No. 31 Tommy Paul, who got the best of him earlier this summer in the second round at the Queen’s Club, 6-4, 2-6, 6-4. Paul also took their title clash last year in Stockholm by the same score.