Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz eased through to the quarter-finals at the Cincinnati Open but fourth seed Taylor Fritz suffered a major upset as he was knocked out by unseeded Frenchman Terence Atmane.
World No 1 Sinner extended his winning streak on hard courts to 24 matches as he beat France’s Adrian Mannarino 6-4 7-6 (7-4) after being made to wait almost three hours to get on court by a rain delay.
Second seed Alcaraz then won 6-1 6-4 against Italian Luca Nardi to ensure the pair remain on course for a fourth final meeting of 2025, as they complete their preparations for the US Open, live on Sky Sports from August 24.
In the women’s draw, Aryna Sabalenka and Iga Swiatek both advanced comfortably but the fourth seed was also knocked out as Jessica Pegula lost to Poland’s Magda Linette.
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Highlights of Jannik Sinner against Adrian Mannarino from the Cincinnati Open
The big surprise of the day came on the men’s side as Fritz suffered a 3-6 7-5 6-3 defeat on home soil to 23-year-old Atmane, a qualifier who entered the tournament with a 1-4 tour-level record for the season.
The World No 136’s run to the last 16 had seen him take out 15th seed Flavio Cobolli and teenage Brazilian star Joao Fonseca, but a comeback victory over last year’s US Open finalist Fritz undoubtedly ranks as the best of his career.
Atmane will next face seventh seed Holger Rune after the Dane knocked out another American, 10th seed Frances Tiafoe, who retired with a back issue when trailing 6-4 3-1.
Sinner’s last-eight opponent will be Felix Auger-Aliassime after the Canadian 23rd seed came through 6-4 6-3 against France’s Benjamin Bonzi.
Alcaraz faces a potentially stiffer challenge in the form of Andrey Rublev, after the ninth seed crushed Argentina’s Francisco Comesana 6-2 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.
Alexander Zverev is still waiting to learn who his opponent will be in the final last-eight tie on the men’s side of the draw, having advanced as Karen Khachanov retired when the German third seed 7-5 3-0.
Zverev could next face last week’s Toronto winner Ben Shelton, who finished off a straight sets victory over Roberto Bautista Agut to set up a Thursday clash with 22nd seed Jiri Lehecka.
Sabalenka wins again after Raducanu thriller
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Highlights of Aryna Sabalenka against Jessica Bouzas from the Cincinnati Open
In the women’s event, top seed Sabalenka backed up her thrilling victory over Britain’s Emma Raducanu by beating Spain’s Jessica Bouzas 6-1 7-5 to claim a tour-leading 50th win of the year.
Earlier, Poland’s Swiatek also advanced in straight sets with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Romanian Sorana Cirstea.
But the most eye-catching result of the day was delivered by Swiatek’s compatriot Linette, as the 31st seed completed a 7-6 (7-5) 3-6 6-3 win over Pegula to reach the last 16.
Linette, whose victory was spread over two days as a result of rain delays, will play again on Thursday – against Veronika Kudermetova – as the bottom half of the women’s round of 16 is completed, with second seed Coco Gauff also in action against Lucia Bronzetti.
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Highlights of Elena Rybakina against Madison Keys from the Cincinnati Open
Sabalenka will face ninth seed Elena Rybakina in the last eight after the 2022 Wimbledon champion beat sixth seed Madison Keys 6-7 (3-7) 6-4 6-2.
Swiatek’s next opponent will be 28th seed Anna Kalinskaya after she came from behind to beat 12th seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-1.
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