Top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Alexander Zverev crashed out of the Cincinnati Open in a matter of hours on a rainy fourth-round day of action. American Tommy Paul saved a match point on the way to a 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 upset of Germany’s Zverev on Wednesday. But the biggest shock came on the women’s side, where Czech Sara Bejlek, ranked 35th, stunned world number one Sabalenka 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 in a gritty match that finished up shortly after the clock ticked past midnight into Thursday morning.
Former champion Sabalenka led by a break in the opening set and was up 5-1 in the tiebreaker before Bejlek roared back to pocket the set in 65 minutes. Bejlek broke the Belarusian three times in the second set, rallying from 4-1 down and securing the win with a love game capped by an ace. I was trying not to be nervous and just play.
I believed in myself no matter what.” Bejlek, who won the Abu Dhabi hard court title in February as a qualifier, booked a quarterfinal clash with American Madison Keys. It was yet another setback for Sabalenka as the start of the US Open looms on August 30. The four-time Grand Slam champion was ousted in the fourth round of the Toronto Masters last week, having lost in the same round at Wimbledon and in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros.
Zverev’s match was interrupted by rain for 90 minutes in the seventh game of the second set and had two more five-minute pauses as drops were dried from the court. French Open champion Zverev had a chance to close it out at 6-5 in the second-set tiebreaker but stuffed a volley into the net. The German again gained an edge in the deciding set with a break for 4-2, but Paul broke back in the next game and again for a 5-4 lead on the way to his third win over Zverev in their last four meetings.
That always helps a tonne. Zverev’s conqueror Paul next faces Roland Garros runner-up Flavio Cobolli, who laboured two and a half hours to engineer a turnaround against red-hot Spaniard Rafael Jodar 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3. American sixth seed Taylor Fritz dispatched Australian Chris O’Connell 6-4, 6-3.
Thiago Tirante, who upset Novak Djokovic in the second round, continued his surprise run, reaching his first Masters quarterfinal with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jakub Mensik. Australian Alex de Minaur was no match for Frenchman Arthur Fils, who cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the fifth seed. The women’s 2023 champion Coco Gauff saved all eight break points she faced in a 6-3, 6-2 win over Czech Marie Bouzkova.
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