Cincinnati Open: Sabalenka advances, Medvedev’s frustrations evident
Sabalenka’s swift victory
Aryna Sabalenka secured her place in the fourth round of the Cincinnati Open with a decisive win over Wang Xinyu. The world number one completed her match in 54 minutes, not facing a single break point. She lost only six points across eight service games and made just five unforced errors against 17 winners, showcasing a composed performance.
This victory marks Sabalenka’s easiest win in some time, following her fourth-round exit at Wimbledon and an early loss in Canada the previous week. The 28-year-old expressed satisfaction with her performance, stating she trusted herself and went for her shots without overthinking.
Sabalenka is the two-time defending champion at the US Open, which is scheduled to begin on Sunday, 30 August. No woman has won the New York title three consecutive times since Serena Williams in 2014.
Her position as world number one is being challenged by Australian Open champion Elena Rybakina. Before the Cincinnati Open, Sabalenka, a four-time major singles champion, held a 354-point lead over Rybakina. For Rybakina to have a chance at surpassing Sabalenka, she must reach the final. If Sabalenka advances to the quarter-finals, Rybakina would need to win the title to claim the world number one ranking. Sabalenka is set to play against Sara Bejlek of the Czech Republic for a spot in the last eight.
With this win, Sabalenka has now reached the Round of 16 or better at 45 WTA 1000 events in her career, surpassing Karolina Pliskova among active players. She also has 50 career wins at WTA 1000 events as World No. 1, a feat achieved by only two other players since the format’s introduction in 2009: Serena Williams (104) and Iga Swiatek (58).
Medvedev’s frustration and other advancements
In contrast to Sabalenka’s smooth progression, fourth seed Daniil Medvedev displayed significant frustration after losing his match to Brandon Nakashima. Medvedev had recovered from a 5-2 deficit in the first set to win it in a tie-break. He then had three match points on Nakashima’s serve at 5-4 in the second set.
However, Nakashima saved these match points and won a subsequent tie-break, ultimately taking the third set to win the match 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-1. Following the missed match points, Medvedev threw his racquet at the electronic boards, causing a brief breakage. He also kicked the screen and knocked over several microphones, committing 51 unforced errors during the match.
Nakashima commented on the match, stating that he focused on fighting for every point when facing match points and was pleased with his performance in the third set.
Other players also advanced to the fourth round of the Cincinnati Open. Mirra Andreeva secured her spot after converting her fourth match point against Janice Tjen, winning 6-1, 7-6(5) in 1 hour and 42 minutes. Andreeva previously reached the quarter-finals in Cincinnati in her only prior appearance at the tournament. She has now achieved consecutive wins for the first time since winning her first Grand Slam title at Roland Garros in June.
Andreeva is scheduled to face Marta Kostyuk for the fourth time this year. Kostyuk leads their head-to-head record 2-1, though Andreeva won their most recent encounter in the Roland Garros semi-finals.
Fourth seed and 2023 champion Coco Gauff also advanced to the fourth round of the Cincinnati Open, defeating fellow American Ann Li with a score of 6-1, 7-6 (3). This marks Gauff’s 36th career WTA 1000 fourth-round appearance, including six this season. Among active players competing in Cincinnati singles, only Aryna Sabalenka (44), Karolina Pliskova (44), Elina Svitolina (43), Iga Swiatek (38), and Jessica Pegula (38) have more. Gauff will next compete against Marie Bouzkova, who defeated Iva Jovic.
Source: bbc.com
