ATP Cincinnati Open Masters
Serve Strength and Composure: Sinner Advances in Cincinnati with Eye on Title Defense
Sinner won 31 of 32 points on his first serve in Cincinnati extending his 24-match hardcourt streak.
Jannik Sinner extended an unbroken run on hard courts with a composed victory over Adrian Mannarino at the Cincinnati Masters. The world number 1 defeated the veteran 6-4, 7-6(4) in a match interrupted by rain, advancing into the ATP Tour Masters 1000 quarter-final.
Sinner produced a striking serving performance when it counted. He won 97% of the points when his first serve landed, taking 31 of 32 such points. That efficiency translated to pressure relief on return games, but the raw numbers also highlighted areas for improvement: he landed just 52% of first serves, finding the mark 32 times from 62 attempts.
Mannarino managed the lone first-serve point on Sinner’s delivery at 6-5 in the second set, breaking to force a tie-break. Sinner closed out the match in the tie-break, 7-4, and confirmed he was satisfied with the result as he aims to defend the Cincinnati Masters title. “He’s a tough opponent,” said Sinner. “Very different to all the other opponents. Not only because he is a leftie but also how he hits the ball – it’s very low.
“I struggled a bit to close it out but this can happen in this sport and I’m very happy to be in the next round.”
Sinner’s first serve has been a focal point in his recent development and his coach Darren Cahill described the work done since joining the team. “One thing I did say is, ‘The serve needs to improve. You’re six foot four and you’re a strong lad’,” said Cahill in an interview with the ATP Tour website. “You need to be able to get more miles per hour on that first serve, better direction on that first serve.
“Then not only do you start winning some free points from your first serve, but also your Plus One becomes much more effective. If people can neutralise your serve, you have to work much harder for your points.
“Then his questions came, one after the other ‘How do I get better at the serve? What do I need to do?’ It’s typical of him. He wants to compete. He’s a competition animal.
Cahill also explained how the partnership with Sinner’s other key coach Simone Vagnozzi works as he added: “I work hand-in-hand with Simone, he started about six months before I did, and he has been amazing. He had a vision for where Jannik’s game needed to go and we spent a lot of time together working through what technical changes he had to make.
“Anything from a technical point of view, creating more ways for him to develop finishing skills, with his serve a little bit, his transition skills, all the stuff that all the great champions of the sport have in their arsenal.
“Jannik was already a great player, he was already a top-10 player, he hit the ball great from the back of the court, but he needed to work on more avenues to finish points.
“And so we went to work and we a really fortunate that we have a player who wants to get better every single day, he never settles for where he is at the moment, no matter what he achieves and every time he steps onto the court he is looking to improve as a tennis player.”
Sinner has now won 24 straight matches on hard courts and will seek to extend that run while defending his Cincinnati title.
ATP French Open Grand Slam
Auger-Aliassime advances to first Roland Garros quarterfinal, completes Canadian Grand Slam milestone
Auger-Aliassime reached his first Roland Garros quarterfinal and became the first Canadian man ever.
Felix Auger-Aliassime continued his run at Roland Garros on Monday, defeating Alejandro Tabilo 6-3, 7-5, 6-1 to reach his first quarterfinal at the clay major.
The victory marked two milestones for the No. 4 seed. It was his first trip to the Roland Garros quarterfinal; his previous best showings at the tournament were fourth-round exits in 2022, when he lost to eventual champion Rafael Nadal, and in 2024, when he fell to eventual champion Carlos Alcaraz. It also made him the first Canadian man ever to reach the quarterfinals or better at all four Grand Slam events. Not just in the Open Era, but ever.
In a match between Canadian-born players—Auger-Aliassime was born in Montreal and Tabilo in Toronto, though he now competes for Chile—Auger-Aliassime seized control early. He broke in the fourth game to lead 3-1 and closed the first set in 39 minutes. The second set was tighter; Tabilo produced chances, including a break point with Auger-Aliassime serving at 3-4, but Auger-Aliassime saved it, held, then secured the only break for a 6-5 lead and served out the set.
Tabilo held to open the third set, but Auger-Aliassime then ran off six consecutive games. He finished the match with a powerful backhand return winner after two hours and six minutes.
“My best match so far in the tournament,” he said. “Over the victory, it feels good. It feels good to play the way that I ambition to play in this game. Today, in a Grand Slam, this is the type of match that you want to play. I’m happy with my performance.”
Waiting in the quarterfinals is No. 10 seed Flavio Cobolli, who beat Zachary Svajda 6-2, 6-3, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5) earlier in the day. Cobolli holds a 2-0 head-to-head edge over Auger-Aliassime, with both wins coming in 2024: Acapulco (2-6, 6-3, 6-2) and Cincinnati (6-3, 6-2).
ATP French Open Grand Slam
Fonseca’s Paris surge: a 19-year-old handling the hard part at Roland Garros
Fonseca’s Paris run: the 19-year-old beat Djokovic and Casper Ruud, showing power and poise. Greatly
Joao Fonseca followed a headline-making third-round victory over Novak Djokovic with another major statement at Roland Garros, defeating two-time finalist Casper Ruud in four hours and minus four minutes of drama, 7-5, 7-6 (8), 5-7, 6-2. The 19-year-old Brazilian, already one of the tournament’s most talked-about young players, is now one of two teenagers through to the quarterfinals alongside Rafael Jodar.
Fonseca’s path here included a remarkable comeback against Djokovic, becoming just the second man to beat Djokovic at Roland Garros after dropping the first two sets, a mark previously set by Jurgen Melzer in 2010. On Sunday he traded heavy forehands and long rallies with the 27-year-old clay specialist before pulling away late. The final numbers underscored how close the contest was: each man finished with 51 winners and an identical 52 errors. Fonseca’s backhand, however, proved the decisive edge in several key moments.
Asked about his versatility in a post-match interview with Mats Wilander, Fonseca said: “It’s more like heart, or mind, I don’t know, I just try to be me on the court. Try to be happy, try to hit winners, try to hit good shots, try to be entertainment … try to be me, and that’s what it is.”
Those words echoed across a week that also drew the attention of Gustavo Kuerten, who watched the match and appeared pleased with the way Fonseca is building on a Brazilian legacy. Fonseca is a 6-foot-2 right-hander with notable power and a broad set of weapons; his temperament and shotmaking have become a central part of his rise.
The run here follows a turbulent sophomore season: a nagging back injury that affected his off-season preparation, an early Australian Open exit and a 1-3 record heading into Indian Wells. He has been careful about expectations, saying in Monte Carlo, “I think the expectations are going to come. People see young players doing great things, and they pull us into the top of the rankings. People need time. Everyone has their own time, so I want to do my history. I hope I’ll be there competing against them [top players], but people need to understand that I need time to become what they want me to do and I want to become.”
Fonseca’s run now brings fresh comparisons and cautions; Jim Courier advised, “Be careful of that hangover.” Still, after five-set wins over Dino Prizmic and Djokovic and Sunday’s victory over Ruud, Fonseca’s immediate problem is simple: maintain the level that has taken him this far. I just try to be me on the court. Try to be happy, try to hit winners, try to hit good shots, try to be entertainment … and that’s what it is. Joao Fonseca
ATP French Open Grand Slam
Roland Garros fines Adolfo Daniel Vallejo $65,000 after sexist remark about chair umpire
Vallejo fined $65,000 by Roland Garros after saying the match ‘has to be refereed by a man’ in 5 sets
Roland Garros has imposed a $65,000 fine on Paraguayan Adolfo Daniel Vallejo after comments he made about the chair umpire following his second-round match.
The 22-year-old, ranked 71st, lost a nearly five-hour, five-set match to 17-year-old Frenchman Moise Kouame. Vallejo led 5-2 in the fifth set before the contest was decided in a tiebreaker. After the match he criticized Brazil’s Ana Carvalho, saying she was not strong enough to handle the partisan crowd and that such a match “has to be refereed by a man.”
“It’s a very demanding crowd and you need a lot of strength to go against the crowd,” he told Spanish-language outlet Clay. “The crowd was very out of line, but I understand they’re supporting their compatriot. It’s quite an intense crowd and that’s why I was prepared; I already knew it would be like that and, to be honest, it didn’t harm me, but rather strengthened him.”
Roland Garros and the French Tennis Federation called the remarks “unacceptable” and said Vallejo would receive a “significant sanction.” “The competence of an umpire is not determined by their gender, but by their professionalism and ability to officiate at the highest level,” the statement read. “The outcome of a sporting event, whether positive or negative, can never justify or excuse such remarks.”
Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo told reporters the fine was “representing roughly half of his prize money.” Organizers noted that players reaching the second round at the French Open receive 130,000 euros ($151,000) and later clarified that the fine was $65,000, not euros. “This is clearly unacceptable,” Mauresmo said. “Once again, such remarks have no place here.”
Vallejo subsequently said his comments had been misrepresented and issued an apology on social media. “my comments were not meant in the way they have been understood.” “I have respect for the umpire and for the job they do, after a [five-hour] battle I was very heated and with a lot of emotions, I apologize,” Vallejo wrote on Instagram late on Friday. “I also want to clarify that I didn’t blame the lost [sic] on her, she did a good job throughout the whole match.”
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