(No. 1) Jannik Sinner def. (No. 23) Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-0, 6-2
Playing in his first tournament since winning his fourth Grand Slam title at Wimbledon, World No. 1 and defending Cincinnati Open champion Jannik Sinner picked up right where he left off. The Italian extended his winning streak on hard courts to 25 matches Thursday with a commanding straight-sets win over Felix Auger-Aliassime. Sinner has yet to drop a set in Cincinnati this year.
Auger-Aliassime struggled to keep pace early, committing 13 unforced errors in the opening set as Sinner raced to a 6-0 lead. The Canadian briefly found momentum at the start of the second, jumping ahead 2-0, but Sinner quickly broke back. Auger-Aliassime had 8 double faults and failed to establish consistency from the baseline, while Sinner remained consistent and closed out the match with ease.
With the win, Sinner advanced to the semifinals, where he will face French qualifier Terence Atmane.
Terence Atmane def. (No. 7) Holger Rune 6-2, 6-3
World No. 136 Terence Atmane’s remarkable run continued Thursday night as the French qualifier stunned seventh seed Holger Rune to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal. The win gave Atmane back-to-back wins over Top 10 opponents, following his upset of No. 4 seed Taylor Fritz in the previous round.
Atmane’s lefty forehand was his key weapon, accounting for 14 of his 22 winners, and his relentless aggression kept Rune on the back foot throughout. Atmane controlled his service games, dropping only 5 points behind his first serve (28 of 33) while capitalizing on return, converting 7 of 11 break point chances. His all-court athleticism and power overwhelmed Rune in just over an hour.
The run has moved Atmane up 67 spots in the ATP Live Rankings to No. 69, setting him up for a new career high ranking. He advances to face World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the semifinals.
(No. 3) Alexander Zverev def. (No. 5) Ben Shelton 6-2, 6-2
Alexander Zverev put in a clinical performance Friday night, with a win over Toronto champion Ben Shelton to advance to the Cincinnati semifinals. The German ended Shelton’s nine-match winning streak with a commanding straight-sets win that took just one hour and 17 minutes.
Zverev dominated the American’s second serve, winning 15 of 19 points, and neutralized Shelton in baseline rallies with consistent depth and precision. While Shelton fired 12 aces, he struggled when his first serve didn’t land, winning only 4 of 19 second-serve points. Zverev, meanwhile won 81% of his own first-serve points and saving the only break point he faced.
The win sends Zverev into his fourth straight Cincinnati semifinal, where he will meet No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz.
(No. 2) Carlos Alcaraz def. (No. 9) Andrey Rublev 6-3, 4-6, 7-5
Carlos Alcaraz was pushed to the limit Friday night but ultimately prevailed in a tense three-set match against ninth seed Andrey Rublev to secure his place in the semifinals. The World No. 2 survived a final set filled with errors, yet held firm to extend his Masters 1000 winning streak to 15 matches.
After splitting the first two sets, Alcaraz appeared to have the match in hand when he broke Rublev for a 5-3 lead in the decider. But a shaky service game — which began with a double fault — allowed Rublev to level the set at 5-5. Alcaraz regrouped immediately, breaking again before serving out the match to close in just under three hours. Despite 15 unforced errors and 3 double faults in the final set, Alcaraz’s resilience proved the difference.
With the hard-fought win, Alcaraz booked his 12th career ATP Masters 1000 semifinal, setting up a semifinal matchup with No. 3 Alexander Zverev.
