Alexander Zverev opened his Cincinnati campaign with a composed 6-3, 6-3 victory over 109th-ranked American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy in Mason, Ohio. The world No 3 arrived on a short turnaround after reaching the last four at the Canadian Open in Toronto; that event concluded on the same day Cincinnati began.

Zverev is hunting a second title at the Masters tournament in Cincinnati after his 2021 triumph. He arrives having reached the semi-finals in both 2023 and 2024. The hard courts at the Lindner Family Tennis Center have long been measured as some of the fastest on the ATP Tour, but Zverev says that has changed.

“Cincinnati was a very fast tournament in the past, but it’s become extremely slow now,” he said in a press conference at this year’s event. “I’m not sure what the reason behind this choice is, especially since in New York the courts will be very fast again.

“I’m not a huge fan of this surface. I just hope to play good tennis and get as far as possible.”

Those comments followed a line of thought the German expressed during the 2024 Cincinnati Masters about equipment and court speed. “Yeah, I mean I’m playing [with] an old school racket still, I’m playing [with] quite a heavy tennis racket still,” he told Tennis Channel.

“I mean, some of the young guys don’t do that anymore so they swing a lot faster than me. But when the ball comes with pace, I think a heavier racket helps you, so that’s maybe part of the reason. Some obviously racket things there.

“I mean look, I’m still from the generation from ten years ago, or from five, six years ago, when we had some very fast hard courts, especially when Roger was still around.

“And obviously, tournaments liked him to go deep, so they were making some very, very fast courts.

“So I’m used to it a little bit maybe more than some of the younger generation, but I mean, still some adjustments to be made.”

For now the focus is straightforward: adapt to the surface and advance. Zverev’s opening win moves him into the next round as he tests whether a slower Cincinnati court will suit his game in pursuit of another deep run.

Karen Khachanov reached a notable career milestone on Sunday in Cincinnati, recording his 200th hard-court tour-level win by defeating Valentin Royer 6-4, 7-6 (6) in the opening round.

The landmark had nearly arrived three days earlier in Toronto, where Khachanov came within four points of the mark while contesting the final. He had produced a deep run in Canada, reaching the second Masters 1000 final of his career and his first since 2018, when he won indoors in Paris, before finishing runner-up to Ben Shelton on Thursday night.

Sunday’s match against French qualifier Royer required work. Khachanov closed out the first set 6-4, then recovered from 4-2 down in the second set and faced a 4-1 deficit in the tiebreak. He even trailed by a set point at 6-5 in the breaker, but won the final three points to secure the match and the 200th hard-court victory.

The milestone places Khachanov among a select group of players; he became the 10th man born in 1990 or later to reach 200 career hard-court wins, and the seventh man born in 1996 or later—or even 1992 or later—to do so. The result continues a strong recent run for Khachanov, who has won 13 of his last 16 matches, a stretch that dates back to the grass-court season and includes a semifinal in Halle, a quarterfinal at Wimbledon and the final in Toronto.

Khachanov entered that run ranked No. 22 and is now No. 12. A former world No. 8, he has a good chance of returning to the Top 10 after Cincinnati. Awaiting him in the third round is American wild card Jenson Brooksby, who defeated French lucky loser Arthur Cazaux earlier in the day, 7-5, 6-1.

The Cincinnati Open will stage a notable rematch from the 2025 Wimbledon Championships as world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka meets Emma Raducanu on Monday. Their third-round encounter at Wimbledon was tightly contested and the pairing now shifts from grass to hard courts.

Raducanu, a former world No. 10 and the No. 30 seed in Cincinnati, pushed Sabalenka to the limit at Wimbledon, forcing a tiebreak in the first set and holding a 4-1 lead in the second before Sabalenka closed out a 7-6 (6), 6-4 victory. Sabalenka noted the quality of that match after her opening-round win over Marketa Vondrousova. “She challenged me in that match,” Sabalenka said in a post-match mixed zone following her opening-round win over Marketa Vondrousova, “and I like to accept tough challenges, so I’m super excited facing her on a hard court.”

Raducanu framed the meeting as a measuring stick for her progress after a period of injuries and surgeries that saw her ranking fall to No. 303 in April 2024 before she climbed back up. “I would say I thought, ‘I would love to have another crack at that, on grass, tomorrow,’” Raducanu said with a laugh after her own opening win against Olga Danilovic. “But I know and I’m honestly reasonable enough and honest enough with myself to know that different surfaces favor different people and where my game is at in comparison.

“I think the grass gave me a bit of an advantage, but we’ll see how it goes [on hard courts].”

Raducanu described the match as a diagnostic test. “It’s like a fact-finding match so you can see where you are in comparison to the top. I also think form fluctuates so much on the day, so you can lose 2&1 one day, and you could make it close the next day. It can be down to a few points. I’m excited either way. Aryna is world No. 1, so it’ll be an exciting match and a good experience. Emma Raducanu on facing Aryna Sabalenka in Cincinnati”

Sabalenka arrives with strong hard-court credentials, having won a US Open title last summer after first taking the Cincinnati crown, and she has been a top performer on the surface since winning her first of two Australian Open titles in 2023. Sabalenka also praised Raducanu after Wimbledon. “She played incredible tennis,” said Sabalenka. “I’m super happy to see her mentally and physically back. She’ll definitely be back in Top 10 very soon.”

Raducanu’s team has recently added Francisco Roig and she emphasises steady improvement rather than immediate targeting of major titles. “It’s important being seeded at these tournaments,” said Raducanu, the No. 30 seed in Cincinnati. “At Masters, you get a bye, which helps a lot. Then at the Slams, you avoid playing a top seed in the first round. Equally, with the stage that I’m at with my tennis and my development right now, it’s about just improving the overall level and feeling I have on court, not having holes as much, I think that’s my main priority.

“I know there will be a time where I’ll be targeting big tournaments, Masters, and Slams. Right now, that’s not my goal. My goal is to improve as a player.”