Ashleigh Barty into Cincinnati Open final with win over Angelique Kerber
World number one Ashleigh Barty reaches her sixth final of 2021 at the Cincinnati Open with a straights set win over Angelique Kerber.
World number one Ashleigh Barty reaches her sixth final of 2021 at the Cincinnati Open with a straights set win over Angelique Kerber.
The ATP has announced a comprehensive review of safeguarding policies, in line with a commitment to ensure all adults and minors involved in professional tennis are safe and protected from abuse. The review has been led by the commissioning of an independent report, currently being compiled by a team of expert consultants.
To date, ATP has typically deferred to legal authorities in cases of abuse before determining if further internal action is warranted under the ATP Code of Conduct. The report is expected to set out a number of recommendations to elevate safeguarding across the organisation and identify opportunities for more proactive involvement. Following its completion, ATP will evaluate its recommendations and possible next steps across a range of safeguarding matters, including those pertaining to domestic violence.
Massimo Calvelli, ATP CEO, said: “Abuse has a profound and lasting impact on millions of victims each year. We believe everyone in tennis should feel protected, fairly represented, and supported in raising concerns. When abusive conduct or allegations are related to any member of the tennis family it can also impact the public’s trust in our sport. We recognise that we have a responsibility to be doing more.
“This represents new ground for us, and the seriousness and complexity of these issues will require us to proceed with care. We have to be sure that any policies are practical and enforceable across our sport, which operates in more than 30 different legal jurisdictions and where players compete as independent contractors. Collaboration with the WTA, ITF and the four Grand Slams will also be important in order to serve the wider tennis community.”
World number one Ashleigh Barty eases through to the semi-finals of the Cincinnati Open with victory over Barbora Krejcikova.
After Andrey Rublev fell to 0-4 against Daniil Medvedev at tour-level earlier this year at the Australian Open, he remained optimistic.
“We’re going to play I hope for many, many years, so at least once I think I will have a chance,” Rublev said, cracking a laugh. “Every time I play him — at the US Open I had chances, I had set points. Here I had break points. And then one day it’s going to be my day.”
Will Saturday be his day when he meets the World No. 2 in the Western & Southern Open semi-finals? Rublev will try to upset his close friend and countryman, with whom he led Russia to ATP Cup glory this year, for a spot in his second ATP Masters 1000 final. But it will be a tough task, and it was no surprise that when Rublev was asked about the matchup, his reaction was priceless: “My good friend Daniil again.”
Medvedev is playing his best tennis of the season, and is fresh off a 6-1, 6-1 masterpiece against seventh seed Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarter-finals. The top seed has won 18 of his past 20 matches, including a run to the Toronto trophy last week, which marked his fourth Masters 1000 title. He is attempting to become just the seventh male player in the Open Era to claim the Toronto-Cincinnati double.
“The higher your confidence is, the more there is a chance that you won’t have these weak spots, and that’s where you are tough to beat,” Medvedev said. “That’s how I’m feeling right now. But what is tough in tennis is you need to continue doing it day after day.
Both men have enjoyed great success in Cincinnati. Two years ago, Rublev defeated Stan Wawrinka and Roger Federer in back-to-back matches to make the quarter-finals. At that stage, he lost against Medvedev, who broke through at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre to lift his first Masters 1000 trophy.
Medvedev will have the mental edge, knowing he has won all 10 tour-level sets he has played against Rublev. The Monaco resident has proven he has the solution to nullify his countryman’s powerful game.
2021 MATCH WINS LEADERS
| Player | W-L | Titles |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | 48-13 | 2 |
| Daniil Medvedev | 40-9 | 3 |
| Andrey Rublev | 40-13 | 1 |
| Novak Djokovic | 38-5 | 4 |
| Casper Ruud | 39-11 | 4 |
Rublev typically crushes ball after ball until he blasts a winner or his opponent is no longer able to defend his attacks. But not only has Medvedev repelled his friend’s offence, he has shown the ability to take advantage of the few moments when Rublev has taken his foot off the gas, stepping into the court himself to take charge.
“You need to be focused 100 percent every point, because as soon as you relax or something, then he will use this opportunity. That’s why it’s important always, even if I’m not attacking, because maybe he [will] take advantage and he [will] start to attack,” Rublev said earlier this year. “For him it’s also not easy. I’m not the only one who’s suffering. He’s also suffering, because in the end for him it’s tough to be always the one who needs to attack and then suddenly again to defend.”
[FOLLOW 1000]Medvedev views their clashes similarly, knowing that the difference in points is often small opportunities within each rally.
“When I play him, I know I cannot lose focus. I need to be there all the points because one small opportunity that he gives me where he doesn’t hit full power, I try to use it, I try to take it,” Medvedev said. “Of course I try to hit shots that he will not be able to attack, to [play] aggressively, because that’s his game. That’s normal against any player, you try to get him out of the comfort zone. Sometimes you succeed, sometimes not. But that’s what I’m going to try to do tomorrow.”
2021 MASTERS 1000 WINS LEADERS
| Player | W-L | Titles |
| Stefanos Tsitsipas | 17-4 | 1 |
| Andrey Rublev | 15-5 | 0 |
| Casper Ruud | 12-4 | 0 |
| Daniil Medvedev | 12-3 | 0 |
| John Isner | 11-4 | 0 |
In the second semi-final, second seed Stefanos Tsitsipas will attempt to maintain his ATP Head2Head dominance of Tokyo Olympics gold medallist Alexander Zverev, whom he leads 6-2.
Both men have been in great form. Tsitsipas is second in the FedEx ATP Race To Turin, and a title in Cincinnati would move him to within 1,195 points of first-place Novak Djokovic. The Greek also made the semi-finals last week in Toronto, where he lost a tough three-setter against American Reilly Opelka.
Zverev began the week without a win on his Western & Southern Open resume. But he has won nine consecutive matches, and is one of two players to reach the last four without dropping a set (also Medvedev).
Not only has the German been winning, but he has been doing so convincingly. Zverev has only lost one set during his winning streak, and just two of the 18 sets he has won during this stretch have gone past 6-4.
“The matches are not going to get easier. I think Stef is somebody who is in incredible form right now and he’s looking forward to playing this match as well because we’re right in front of the US Open,” Zverev said in his on-court interview after defeating Norwegian Casper Ruud on Friday. “We should be playing our best tennis, and I think it’s going to be entertaining for all of us.”
Tsitsipas is never one to shy away from a test. The last time these two played was in the semi-finals at Roland Garros. The Greek lost the third and fourth sets before steadying himself to reach his first Grand Slam final.
Like Zverev, he had never won a match in Cincinnati before this week. But the 23-year-old is as confident as anyone, leading the ATP Tour with 48 wins this season. He now has his sights set on a fourth Masters 1000 final.
“I think it is important to accept the challenge, to embrace it and to want to pursue further success,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview after battling past Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals. “The sport that I chose to play, I’m out there playing it for the difficult moments and for the easy ones and I want to bring the best out of my game when things aren’t easy.”
Did You Know?
The top four seeds are in the Western & Southern Open semi-finals for the first time since 2009, when Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic made it that far.
Alexander Zverev delivered a reality check to Casper Ruud and his growing hard-court confidence with an overwhelming 6-1, 6-3 victory in the Western & Southern Open quarter-finals Friday night.
The Tokyo Olympics champion had too much firepower on serve and from the baseline, crushing 18 winners to seven and dominating points of five shots or less 32-17.
Zverev, who had not won a match in six previous appearances at this ATP Masters 1000 tournament, advanced to a blockbuster semi-final showdown with Stefanos Tsitsipas. The Greek dominates their ATP Head2Head 6-2 and defeated the German in a five-set thriller in this year’s Roland Garros semi-finals.
[FOLLOW 1000]Zverev, who has now reached the quarter-finals or better of eight of the nine Masters 1000 events (except Indian Wells), extended his winning streak to nine matches dating back to the Olympics.
Zverev was fast out of the blocks against Ruud, claiming two breaks to race to a 4-0 lead and wrapping up the set soon after for the loss of just 11 points. The Norwegian conjured a break out of nowhere in the first game of the second set. But Zverev, who has adjusted nicely to the lively courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre, broke back for 3-all and closed out the match soon after.
A few centimetres nearly changed the trajectory of Stefanos Tsitsipas’ Western & Southern Open quarter-final against Felix Auger-Aliassime. But the Greek maintained his focus to earn a spot in the last four in Cincinnati.
Despite letting slip two match points in the second set, Tsitsipas defeated Auger-Aliassime 6-2, 5-7, 6-1 after two hours and 12 minutes to reach the semi-finals at this tournament for the second consecutive year. But the second seed’s victory did not come drama-free.
“Tennis is a psychological game and things like this happen. It’s important to just stick to your roots and what you are doing best,” Tsitsipas said in his on-court interview. “It might not have been ideal in the second set, especially when I made so many opportunities and had such a good opportunity to close it a bit earlier. But with a lot of patience and just trying to find that opportunity in the third set, I was stepping in, I was really determined and I didn’t let go.”
For most of the first two sets, the Greek was in full control. Tsitsipas played with patient aggression to take a 6-2, 5-4 15/40 lead as a physically impeded Auger-Aliassime struggled to find rhythm. But on the 2019 Nitto ATP Finals champion’s second match point on the Canadian’s serve, Felix hit a backhand that barely clipped the back of the baseline.
The ball was so close that Tsitsipas thought it was out and he had won the match. But instead, that served as a turning point as Auger-Aliassime — who took an injury timeout at 2-3 in the set to get treatment on his left side — found better balance in his game to quickly turn the table and send the battle to a third set.
[FOLLOW 1000]But after taking a bathroom break, Tsitsipas returned to court refreshed. The match points he lost did not cause any panic. Auger-Aliassime gifted his opponent an early break in the third with a sprayed forehand wide, and the Greek never looked back, storming through the decider without facing a break point.
“[I was] determined, fierce and feisty when I had to be. I’m just filled with many emotions right now,” Tsitsipas said. “Things got really tough at some point and I had to find different solutions and come up with some new ideas and I followed through. [I] made it a choice of mine to step in with aggression and build up the game.”
Any hopes of a late comeback by the Canadian were dashed when Auger-Aliassime struck his seventh double fault to give the second seed a second break. But the 21-year-old will leave Cincinnati confident after advancing to his second ATP Masters 1000 final, including a win over close friend Matteo Berrettini, the Wimbledon finalist.
Auger-Aliassime dominated his rivalry with Tsitsipas from the juniors through their early years as professionals. But Tsitsipas has firmly taken control of their ATP Head2Head series, now leading 5-2 thanks to five consecutive wins.
The second seed suffered a tough three-set lost last week in the Toronto semi-finals against Reilly Opelka. But he has rebounded well in Ohio with three victories to advance to the last four. Tsitsipas is trying to win his second Masters 1000 title after triumphing in Monte-Carlo earlier this season.
Next up will be Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Alexander Zverev, who eliminated Turin contender Casper Ruud of Norway in straight sets. Tsitsipas leads the German 6-2 in their ATP Head2Head rivalry.
Second seeds Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos moved past Alex de Minaur and Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 on Friday at the Western & Southern Open to reach their third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of the season.
The Spanish-Argentine tandem broke De Minaur and Norrie three times to advance in 72 minutes. Granollers and Zeballos lifted the trophy at the Mutua Madrid Open in May and reached the semi-finals at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in April.
They will next face Fabio Fognini of Italy and Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador, who upset fourth seeds Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury 6-4, 7-6(5). Fognini and Arevalo are teaming for the first time this week and saved two match points in their first-round victory on Monday.
[FOLLOW 1000]Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah also advanced, overcoming Tim Puetz and Michael Venus 6-4, 6-4 as the third seeds aim to win their first Masters 1000 title since Rome in 2019.
The Colombians, who have reached the final in Cincinnati in 2018 and 2019, won 79 per cent (30/38) of their first-service points to advance in one hour and 30 minutes. They will next face Austin Krajicek and Steve Johnson after the Americans downed Hubert Hurkacz and #NextGenATP star Jannik Sinner 6-3, 6-1.
It is the first time Krajicek and Johnson have teamed this year, with the pair last competing in 2020 at the Western & Southern Open when it was held in New York, also reaching the semi-finals on that occasion.
Nick Kyrgios and Andy Murray will clash in a first-round blockbuster at next week’s Winston-Salem Open, which will be played from 22-28 August.
Former World No. 1 Murray leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head series 5-1. Kyrgos’ only win came in their most recent match three years ago at the Queen’s Club, where the Scot made his return following his first hip surgery.
View Winston-Salem Draw
When ATPTour.com asked Murray this week which players he finds most entertaining to watch, the 34-year-old mentioned Kyrgios, but with a caveat.
“I like watching [Nick] Kyrgios when he’s into it. When he’s not into it, I don’t enjoy that at all,” Murray said. “But when he’s into it, I really enjoy watching him.”
Murray showed signs of good form in Cincinnati, where he pushed Miami champion Hubert Hurkacz in a tight two-setter in the second round. This will be Kyrgios’ fifth tournament of the year outside Australia. The winner will play another fans’ favourite in the second round: 13th seed Frances Tiafoe.
Pablo Carreno Busta, who lost against Daniil Medvedev on Friday in the Cincinnati quarter-finals, is the top seed. The 2016 Winston-Salem champion will begin his tournament against Moldovan Radu Albot or South Korean Soonwoo Kwon.
Second seed David Goffin, the 2017 Nitto ATP Finals runner-up, will open against Australian James Duckworth or Brazilian Thiago Monteiro, and third seed Daniel Evans will face Spaniard Feliciano Lopez or a qualifier.
Benoit Paire, the 12th seed, is fresh off a resurgence in Cincinnati, where he made the quarter-finals and pushed Andrey Rublev in a tough three-setter. The Frenchman will play a countryman in his opener: Arthur Rinderknech or Gilles Simon.
Other players to watch in the field include #NextGenATP stars Carlos Alcaraz and Lorenzo Musetti. Alcaraz, the 15th seed, will clash against American Steve Johnson or a qualifier, and Musetti will play Argentine Federico Coria.
Daniil Medvedev continued his pursuit of the Toronto-Cincinnati ATP Masters 1000 double with a commanding win over Pablo Carreno Busta Friday to charge into the Western & Southern Open semi-finals.
The Russian avenged his loss at the Tokyo Olympics to the eventual bronze medallist with a 6-1, 6-1 win in just 54 minutes to claim his 40th match win of the year. Medvedev has dropped only 12 games this week in Ohio, having cruised past Mackenzie McDonald and Grigor Dimitrov in his opening two rounds.
“That is why we like tennis, because it is made of many, many different small details,” Medvedev said in his on-court interview. “Different conditions, different balls. I played much better today than I did there [at the Tokyo Olympics]. I am really happy to win here and gain a small [bit of] revenge.
“I was feeling great during the match. In these conditions, you try to win the match as fast as possible, especially against Carreno Busta, who can catch fire at any moment and start getting you into long rallies. I tried to keep pushing him and I am really happy I managed to do it.”
The World No. 2, who defeated big-serving American Reilly Opelka to lift his fourth ATP Masters 1000 crown in Toronto last week, was dominant against Carreno Busta. Medvedev overpowered the Spaniard with his flat groundstrokes to extend his winning streak to eight matches as he aims to become just the seventh male player in the Open Era to capture the Toronto-Cincinnati double.
[FOLLOW 1000]Medvedev enjoyed a dream run in 2019 to his maiden Masters 1000 title in Cincinnati, and is yet to drop a set this week in Ohio as his love affair with the North American hard-court event continues. The Australian Open finalist will next face countryman Andrey Rublev after the fourth seed overcame Benoit Paire earlier on Friday.
“[There is] lots of intensity when you play Andrey,” Medvedev added. “He has been playing great since the restart of tennis, only ups, so it is going to be a great match. Of course, I want to be on top.”
The 25-year-old has won trophies in Mallorca on grass and in Marseille on hard this year, while he also helped guid Russia to the ATP Cup title in February. Medvedev will compete in his second Masters 1000 semi-final of the season on Saturday.
Medvedev broke the Spaniard in the second game of the match to set up a 4-1 lead after just 12 minutes. With the temperature and humidity soaring at the Lindner Family Tennis Centre, the Russian showed little interest in a prolonged battle with Carreno Busta, wrapping up the opener in just 20 minutes. Medvedev won all 13 first-serve points and closed out the set with one of the nine aces he hit in the match.
The Russian continued to dictate in the second set, hitting with relentless depth and accuracy to move 4-0 ahead as he put 84 per cent of serves into play in the match. Medvedev fired 20 winners in the clash and committed just seven unforced errors compared to Carreno Busta’s 24 to seal his victory.
Carreno Busta, who was competing in his first Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season, did not drop a set en route to his clash with Medvedev. The seventh seed lifted his first ATP 500 trophy earlier this year in Hamburg and also captured the Marbella title on home soil in Spain in April.
Russia’s Andrey Rublev continued his quest for his first ATP Masters 1000 title on Friday at the Western & Southern Open. The fourth seed battled past Frenchman Benoit Paire 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 to reach in Cincinnati to reach his third Masters 1000 semi-final of the season.
Rublev has fond memories in Ohio, having defeated Roger Federer en route to the quarter-finals in Ohio in 2019. He won 84 per cent (37/44) of his first-service points against Paire and raised his level in the third set to advance in one hour and 40 minutes. Rublev will next face top-seeded countryman Daniil Medvedev or Pablo Carreno Busta in the last four.
“I think he began to enjoy the atmosphere, to play better to serve better and everything was going in,” Rublev said of Paire’s second-set turnaround. “It was not easy to find the point to take [back] the advantage of the match. In the third set I focussed on trying to be more calm, to not make stupid mistakes.”
[FOLLOW 1000]The World No. 7 advanced to his maiden Masters 1000 final earlier this year at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters (l. to Tsitsipas) and reached the last four at the Miami Open presented by Itau (both April). Rublev also captured his eighth tour-level crown in Rotterdam in March and helped guide Russia to the ATP Cup title in February.
In his first ATP Head2Head meeting against Paire, Rublev made a fast start in the first set, stepping inside the baseline and striking the ball with great power on his forehand to dictate. After breaking in the opening game, the Russian was strong on serve and did not face a break point as he raced ahead in 19 minutes.
After receiving treatment for a shoulder injury, Paire started to cause Rublev more problems in the second set. The three-time tour-level titlist demonstrated a mixture of power and precision on his backhand return and covered the court well, showcasing his defensive skills to level the match.
As they moved into a decider, Paire fended off four break points in a mammoth sixth game to remain with Rublev. However, the fourth seed continued to hammer the ball from the baseline and broke with a smash to lead 5-3, before serving out to seal his victory.
Paire was competing in just his second Masters 1000 quarter-final, having advanced to the last four in Rome in 2013. The World No. 50, who upset Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the second round, has reached quarter-finals in Gstaad, Hamburg and Cordoba this season.
