Carlos Alcaraz on Thursday was halted by rain on the brink of victory, while defending women’s champion Coco Gauff crashed out in her first match at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open and Taiwanese there and in Colombia also exited.
Spaniard Alcaraz, the reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion, led France’s Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-6 (1/3) when rain halted play at the last major tuneup for the US Open, which is to start on Aug. 26.
Top seed Alcaraz, who lost to Novak Djokovic in last year’s Cincinnati final, took a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, also dropping that final to Djokovic.
Photo: Susan Mullane-USA Today
Alcaraz is back on hardcourt for the first time since winning the Miami Open. He skipped last week’s ATP Montreal Masters.
Men’s third seed Alexander Zverev, the 2021 champion from Germany, won his ATP-leading 50th match this season, dispatching Karen Khachanov 6-3, 6-2 in a repeat of his Tokyo Olympic final win.
Zverev, feeling poorly last week in Montreal, said his form is much improved.
Photo: Susan Mullane-USA Today
“I felt well on court. If you feel good in training it’s easier to bring it to the match,” he said. “I just hope my form can get better. I’m happy I got the win today.”
Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta is to play him next after defeating Australian Max Purcell 6-3, 6-3.
Briton Jack Draper accounted for ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. The Greek served for the match leading 5-4 in the third set, but Draper won 12 of the last 14 points to turn the situation on its head.
Holger Rune defeated Portugal’s top player Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-6 (10/8).
Gauff was eliminated earlier in a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 upset loss to Kazakh spoiler Yulia Putintseva.
A disappointed Gauff will go back to the drawing board before defending her US Open crown.
Putintseva, ranked 34th, has made a recent habit of upsets, knocking off top-ranked Iga Swiatek barely a month ago at Wimbledon.
“I’m really proud of myself,” Putintseva said. “These courts are so fast, you have to just play on instinct. That’s what I did.”
Gauff became Cincinnati’s youngest champion a year ago at age 19 and carried that success into her first Grand Slam triumph at the US Open.
“I have to work on consistency overall,” Gauff said. “I’m making a lot of unforced errors, especially when I was up 4-2” in the third set, Gauff said. “Most of the points [that Putintseva won] were off [my] errors. She’s tricky to play, mixes up the ball and likes drop shots. She makes you earn the match.”
Putintseva next faces Spain’s Paula Badosa, who defeated Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2.
Third seed Aryna Sabalenka polished her opening-match record at the event by defeating Italy’s Elisabetta Cocciaretto 6-3, 6-4.
Sabalenka missed Wimbledon and the Paris Olympics with a right shoulder injury, but said that she feels well.
“I’m happy with my level in the tough moments,” Sabalenka said. “Elisabetta is a difficult opponent. She fought to the last point.”
In the women’s doubles, Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei bowed out in the round-of-16.
Briton Harriet Dart and Ellen Perez of Australia eliminated Hsieh and Elise of Mertens Belgium 6-3, 7-5.
At the Barranquilla Open in Colombia, Ingrid Gamarra Martins of Brazil and the US’ Quinn Gleason beat Taiwan’s Liang En-shuo and Prarthana Thombare of India 6-2, 6-4 in their quarter-final at Parque Distrital de Raquetas.
Additional reporting by staff writer
OFFENSE SHINES: First baseman Pan Chie-kai hit a solo homer in the fifth inning as all 10 batters Taiwan used contributed at least one hit toward their team total of 14 One day after their first shutout loss at the WBSC Premier12, Taiwan yesterday bounced back with a commanding 8-2 victory over the US, keeping their hopes for a spot in tomorrow’s final alive. The win in the Super Round marked Taiwan’s first triumph over the US at a top-tier international baseball tournament since 2003. Their previous win over the US was at the 2003 Baseball World Cup, with only one win in the previous 10 matchups since 1999. Yesterday’s game was tightly contested through the first six innings, with the margin never exceeding two runs. However, the tide turned in the top of
Nikola Jokic on Saturday scored 34 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to spark the Denver Nuggets over the Los Angeles Lakers 127-102, continuing their dominance of the NBA rivalry, while Scotty Pippen Jr scored a career-best 30 points to lead the Memphis Grizzlies past the Chicago Bulls, 142-131. The Nuggets won for the 13th time in the past 14 contests against the Lakers, including ousting the Lakers in the playoffs the past two seasons. Serbian star Jokic failed to achieve his sixth consecutive triple-double, managing only eight assists, but his effort was plenty as Michael Porter Jr added 24 points and 11
TWO-NIL LOSS: Taiwan’s best chance to score came at the top of the fifth with the bases loaded and one out, but Venezuela’s Liarvis Breto got out of the jam Taiwan yesterday suffered a shutout 2-0 loss to Venezuela in the opening game of the WBSC Premier12 Super Round at the Tokyo Dome. Taiwan had seven hits, one more than Venezuela’s six, but catcher Carlos Perez’s two-run homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning delivered the only runs scored by both teams and secured victory for Venezuela. Taiwan’s best chance came at the top of the fifth inning with the bases loaded and only one out. However, Venezuela reliever Liarvis Breto struck out Chen Chen-wei before reliever Pedro Garcia finished the inning by allowing an infield flyball by Lin
As sporting celebrations go, it does not quite have the charm of Roger Milla’s hip-wiggling shimmy with a corner flag at the 1990 World Cup or the imperious swagger of Usain Bolt’s iconic lightning pose. However, a dance move inspired by US president-elect Donald Trump’s stilted on-stage boogieing has rapidly become the celebration of choice across the US sporting world. From the blood-soaked UFC to the hard-hitting NFL and the reliably decorous world of the LPGA Tour, athletes across North America have succumbed to the viral Trump dance craze in the past week. On Monday, US soccer star Christian Pulisic became the latest
RSS