Madison Keys dug deep in her Cincinnati Open return, overturning two match points to beat Eva Lys 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1) in a two hour, 12 minute battle on Grandstand Court.

“I think I blacked out,” Keys joked after coming back to win, 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (1). “I was just trying to win the point directly ahead of me.”

Keys trailed 0-3 in the deciding set and had to recover after serving for the match at 5-4, ultimately surrendering only a single point after saving match point to dominate the final-set tiebreaker. It was the fourth time this season she has won from match point down.

“I think it was just one of those days where neither of us played great at the same time, but we both kind of kept finding it,” Keys explained her post-match mixed zone. “I feel like sometimes that’s just a tennis match: you’re not both raising your level at the same time, and that kind of happened a little bit today.

“I also thought we both played really well at moments.”

“I think I played well when it mattered. I think I served really well at the end, and that was huge. I felt like there was times when I wasn’t making the best decisions, but that’s life. Madison Keys

Keys will next face qualifier Aoi Ito for a spot in the fourth round. Her comeback in Cincinnati added to a remarkable start to 2025, a season that began with her first Grand Slam title in Melbourne where she dethroned defending champion Aryna Sabalenka after nearly losing to Iga Swiatek in the semis.

“You can definitely use that as confidence and hopefully you don’t get yourself back in that scenario,” she said of the halo effect winning tough matches can provide. “But definitely, there’s lot of positives you can take away from that.”

Keys has also reached the quarterfinals of Roland Garros and the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Open this year and is positioned among the title contenders as she builds toward the US Open, for which this would be her 14th main-draw appearance. A former Cincinnati champion in 2019 and a semifinalist in 2022, Keys praised the venue and its fans.

“I’ve always loved this tournament and it’s always packed,” said Keys. “There’s never any match I’ve ever played where you look around and there’s not hundreds of people around. I think that part of that is that this tournament has been here for so long, but the fans are very knowledgeable. They’re very big tennis fans, and I feel like it’s such a great central location for a lot of Midwesterners to come.

“It’s always one of my favorite tournaments and I think the fans are a huge part of that.”

Jannik Sinner returned to action at the Cincinnati Open with an emphatic opening victory, dispatching Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1 in 59 minutes. It was the Italian’s first match since defeating Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final and he carried that form straight onto the hard court.

Sinner dropped just two games in the contest against the World No. 144, a scoreline that leaves little doubt about the balance between the players on the day. The 23-year-old now moves into the Round of 32, where he will face either Sebastian Baez or David Goffin.

The win continues a run Sinner began at this venue a year ago. Looking to retain his title after winning here 12 months ago, he arrives in Cincinnati on the back of a remarkable stretch: his record at big tournaments since that previous victory stands at 48-2.

This match was a straightforward start to his Cincinnati title defense. The scoreline and the brief duration of the match emphasise how quickly Sinner re-established control after the Wimbledon break. With a dominant first outing completed, attention will turn to the next opponent and how Sinner manages the step up in competition as the draw narrows.

For now the facts are clear: a dominant opening performance, minimal games dropped, and a path that leads to a Round of 32 encounter with either Baez or Goffin. Sinner’s objective in Cincinnati remains to defend the crown he claimed at this venue one year earlier, and the opening result offered a timely reminder of the form that produced a 48-2 record in big tournaments since that triumph.

World No. 3 Iga Swiatek survived a second-set resurgence from World No. 45 Anastasia Potapova to begin her 2025 Cincinnati Open campaign with a win. Swiatek took the first set in under 30 minutes, dropping just one game, but Potapova fought back to make the match more difficult than the early stages suggested.

The 24-year-old closed the match on Center Court, taking the second set 6-4 to move into a Round of 32 tie against Marta Kostyuk. The victory followed a first match that required Swiatek to lift her level at decisive moments as Potapova applied pressure after a one-sided opening.

“I really wanted to be solid but pretty intense on the other hand and it was a little bit up and down in the second set,” she said. “But in important moments, I got my level up and I could close it.

“So yeah, for sure, you know, first match in any tournament is always tricky, and I’m happy that I’m going to have a chance to play another one here.”

Swiatek also highlighted the improved conditions at the venue and said the refurbishments helped her prepare. She described the changes as a positive factor in her match routine and appreciated the quieter spaces that allowed focus ahead of the contest.

“It’s amazing to be back here, you know, especially coming back to much, much better facilities and everything is new, so I’m really enjoying it.

“It helps, because you can chill even before the match, there’s no like noise and too many people in one place. So for sure, it’s good for someone like me who likes it a bit quiet and to create my own space.

“So, yeah, I think for sure this tournament needed that, and I’m happy that they made such an amazing job just in one year to build all these facilities, because I never seen anything like it, and it’s just great.”