Top-ranked Jannik Sinner and women’s world No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka on Monday earned straight-set victories in the finals of the Cincinnati Open, the first titles at the tournament for both players.
Sabalenka defeated Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5 for her first title since the Australian Open in January.
Sinner, who turned 23 on Friday last week, beat Frances Tiafoe of the US 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 to become the youngest Cincinnati champion since 21-year-old Andy Murray won in 2008.
Photo: Susan Mullane-USA Today
“I’m very happy to be in the position where I am,” Sinner said. “I’m just trying to keep going this way mentally. It’s important to recover to be ready for New York. That’s the most important thing.”
The US Open begins in New York on Monday next week.
Sinner and Tiafoe were both playing in their first Cincinnati final with their previous best results being the third round.
Photo: AFP
Tiafoe forced a tiebreak in the first set, but three straight errors led to a 7-6 defeat.
Sinner had a 5-1 lead in the second set, but Tiafoe saved three match points to make it 5-2 before Sinner was able to serve out for the win.
Tiafoe had a less conventional path to the final. He won the first set in the quarter-finals on Saturday before Hubert Hurkacz retired with a calf injury, then saved two match points to defeat Holger Rune in three sets in the semi-finals.
An American has not won the men’s title in Cincinnati since Andy Roddick in 2006.
Sabalenka moved up a spot to No. 2 in the rankings before the match, then did not lose a set en route to her 15th WTA Tour title. She had never gotten past the semi-finals at Cincinnati, losing three times in that round.
The 26-year-old Sabalenka can now be considered a favorite at the US Open. The Belarusian missed Wimbledon with a shoulder injury, then returned in Washington two weeks ago.
“I would say that I’m really playing great tennis,” Sabalenka said. “Probably not the best tennis I can play, but I’m definitely getting there. Hopefully, at the US Open I can reach even higher levels.”
Against Pegula, Sabalenka took 17 minutes to build a 4-1 lead in the first set. Pegula, who double-faulted five times, broke serve for the first time to tie the second set at 5-5, but Sabalenka won the next two games to finish off the match in 1 hour, 14 minutes.
“She was playing at a high level and never really came down,” Pegula said.
Pegula had a challenging road to the final. After defending her title in Toronto, the American played two matches on Friday last week because of weather-related postponements and had three matches go three sets. Her time on the court exceeded Sabalenka’s by more than 2 hours entering the final.
“I’m proving to myself that I can play a lot of matches and overcome a lot of challenges,” Pegula said. “I’m looking forward to not doing anything for a few days.”
Sabalenka joined top-ranked Iga Swiatek as the only players with 10 or more WTA Tour titles since 2020.
SIBLING RIVALRY: Marc Marquez was locked in a duel with his little brother, falling behind at one point before recovering for his first season-opening victory since 2014 Six-time world champion Marc Marquez yesterday won the MotoGP season-opening Thailand Grand Prix to complete a dominant debut weekend at his new Ducati Lenovo Team, having also romped to Saturday’s sprint. The Spanish great took the 26-lap grand prix by 1.732 seconds for his 63rd MotoGP victory from younger brother Alex Marquez, who is still seeking a first checkered flag, with Francesco Bagnaia third to complete an all-Ducati podium. It completed a perfect weekend for Marc Marquez, who took pole position, the sprint victory and the grand prix win for a maximum 37 points to open the 22-leg 2025 campaign. He led from
AC Milan’s slender hopes of reaching next season’s UEFA Champions League took another hit on Thursday with a 2-1 defeat at Bologna which left them eight points from Serie A’s top four. Sergio Conceicao’s team sit eighth, some way behind fourth-placed Juventus after losing an entertaining contest at the Stadio Renato Dall’Ara, a match which was rescheduled from October last year due to torrential rain and flooding. Swathes of the Emilia-Romagna region in northern Italy, much of which is fertile agricultural land, had been left under water following a massive autumn downpour. Dan Ndoye prodded home the decisive goal in the 82nd minute
Former Australian motorcycle gang member-turned-golfer Ryan Peake, who served a lengthy jail term for assault, yesterday produced a “life-changing” maiden win to qualify for The Open Championship. Peake held his nerve for a one-stroke victory at the New Zealand Open, earning him a berth at the major in Portrush, Northern Ireland, in July, pending clearance to travel as a convicted criminal. The 31-year-old from Perth celebrated animatedly and was showered with champagne by friends on the 18th green of the Millbrook Resort course near Queenstown after a redemption story rarely seen in the refined sport of golf. Peake held back tears as he
MILWAUKEE PREVAIL: Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 28 points as the Bucks withstood Nikola Jokic’s 27th triple-double of the season to beat the Nuggets Golden State star Stephen Curry on Thursday drilled 12 three-pointers in a scintillating 56-point display that carried the Warriors to a 121-115 victory over the Orlando Magic. Curry’s explosive performance helped the Warriors dig themselves out of a 17-point hole, with the point guard signaling the start of the fightback with a three-pointer from beyond the half-court line to end the first half that pulled the Warriors within 66-52 at the break. In the third quarter, he single-handedly outscored the Magic with 22 points to Orlando’s 21. The four-time NBA champion finished two three-pointers shy of former teammate Klay Thompson’s record for most
RSS