Top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Alexander Zverev crashed out of the Cincinnati Open within hours of each other on a rainy fourth-round day of action.
American Tommy Paul saved a match point en route to a 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 upset of Germany's Zverev on Wednesday. This marks Paul's third win over Zverev in their last four meetings.
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 shortly after midnight.
Sabalenka led by a break in the opening set and was up 5-1 in the tiebreaker before Bejlek roared back to take the set in 65 minutes. Bejlek broke the Belarusian three times in the second set, rallying from 4-1 down and sealing the win with a love game capped by an ace.
“I lost my words – it feels incredible,” Bejlek said after her first win over a top 10 player. “I was playing what I was feeling and not really thinking. 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. The French Open champion had a chance to close it out at 6-5 in the second-set tiebreaker but stuffed a volley into the net.
Zverev again gained an edge in the deciding set with a break for 4-2, but Paul broke back and again for a 5-4 lead. “I'm not sure how I did it,” Paul said. “I put some returns in, he gave me some looks at second serves and he threw in a few doubles. That always helps a tonne.”
Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada was another casualty, falling 6-3, 6-4 to American Frances Tiafoe. Paul next faces Flavio Cobolli, who labored two and a half hours to beat Rafael Jodar 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3.
American sixth seed Taylor Fritz dispatched Chris O'Connell 6-4, 6-3. Thiago Tirante, who upset Novak Djokovic in the second round, reached his first Masters quarterfinal with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jakub Mensik.
In women's action, 2023 champion Coco Gauff saved all eight break points she faced in a 6-3, 6-2 win over Marie Bouzkova. Defending champion Iga Swiatek needed four match points to get past Diane Parry 6-3, 6-3.
Ukraine's Marta Kostyuk rallied from a set down to beat French Open winner Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 6-0, 6-2. Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova fell to Amanda Anisimova 6-1, 6-4 in another weather-disrupted match.
Source: www.aljazeera.com