Swiatek, Sinner moving to the next round at Rainy Cincinnati Open
Swiatek Advances to Quarterfinals in Cincinnati Open
Iga Swiatek returns a shot against Sorana Cirstea on Wednesday during the Cincinnati Open in the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
Aaron Doster/Reuters
Third Seed Iga Swiateek reached the quarterfinals of Cincinnati on Wednesday with a 6-4 6-4 victory over Sorana Cirstea on Wednesday, while defender Jannik Sinner Adrian Mannarino beat after a long rain delay.
Wimbledon champion Swiateek expanded her perfect record against Cirstea and will then be confronted with the winner of an All-Russian collision between Anna Kalinskaya and Ekaterina Alexandrova.
“We have played many heavy matches, so I know that Sorana can really hit the ball, especially on faster surfaces,” said Polen Swiateek.
“I am glad I was solid enough. I tried to be proactive with my serve, not much of my first portions went inside, but I was glad I was solid on my second portions.”
Colleague Magda Linette disrupted the fourth seed Jessica Pegula 7-6 (5) 3-6 6-3 in a third round match that extended in two days after Tuesday’s suspension due to rain.
The American had leveled the game on a set per piece, but on Wednesday’s resumption, Linette earned the break before he closed it on serve for her second top 10 victory of the season.
In the men’s pulling, Top Seed Sinner kept his title defense on the right track and defeated the French qualifying Mannarino 6-4 7-6 (4) after a rain break of almost three hours.
The Italian struggled to find his rhythm, failed to serve 6-5, but sealed the tiebreak with back-to-back aces for his 24th consecutive hardcourt victory.
Mannarino “is a very tough opponent. Very different from other opponents, not only because he is a lifty, but how he touches the ball. It’s very low,” said the 23-year-old sinner. “I just tried to serve well and tried to see what I could do in the return games.”
Sinner will come across the 23rd Seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, which exceeds Benjamin Bonzi in France on Wednesday evening.
Ben Shelton, whose competition was also stopped after the first set, went on to the round of 16 with a 7-6 (3) 6-3 victory over Roberto Bautista Agut. The American fifth seed will then be confronted with Czech Jiri Lehecka.
Alexander Zverev completed a 6-4 6-4 victory over Brandon Nakashima after the match was suspended at night when he led 5-4 in the second set.
The German third seed will return to the court later on Wednesday, and is aimed at the revenge of the semi -final loss last week in Toronto for the Russian Karen Khahanov.
Earlier, the seventh seed Holger Rune went up after home favorite Frances Tiafoe was forced to retire with a back injury.
