ATP
Djoko shock as Serb knocked out in Cincinnati
Novak Djokovic vomited on court during a gruelling second set as the three-time champion played what was likely his last match at the Cincinnati Masters on Saturday, taking a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 loss to Argentine Thiago Tirante.
The 39-yea-rold Djokovic was all but overcome by the 90 percent humidity in the American Midwest and resorted to bending over with his head in his hands after particularly gruelling shots.
The 17-minute third game of the second,was tough, with Djokovic saving four break points over nine deuces but kneeling down after many points with his towel in his hands.
He was seen by the trainer and a doctor in the second set, but after losing it , came back out for the third in what appeared to be a refreshed condition.
All went wrong in the ninth game, when Djokovic saved three break points but then missed on a drop shot to hand his opponent a fourth break chance,whichTirante took.
The South American wrapped up the job a game later.
Tirante was thrilled with his accomplishment: “This is the best win of my career. I managed the nerves of playing a legend like Novak. It was all so much pressure.”
Djokovi said he had probably played for the final time in Cincy, which he has won three times.
“It looks like I won’t be back, unfortunately to play here,” he said, confirming that the sweltering weather got the better of him.
“It was a combination of the heat and humidity, all those things,” he said. “Everything involved makes it worse.”
The Serb admitted he might have played his last match here: “It looks like I won’t be back, unfortunately to play here.
“It was a combination of the heat and humidity, all those things.. Everything involved makes it worse.”
Djokovic was making his 16th appearance Cincinnati and had won his last 10 matches.
Seventh seed Flavio Cobolli, runner-up at the French Open, defeated Miomir Kecmanovic 6-6-1, 4-6, 6-3. Martin Landaluce advanced past Matteo Arnaldi 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 to move into the third round against Tirante.
Belgian Alexander Blockx beat Argentine Mariano Navone 6-3, 6-4.
In the WTA draw, Philippines sensation Alexandra Eala advanced to the third round 6-1, 3-0 on Saturday as injured Elena-Gabriela Ruse quit their match during a weather delay.
The Romanian had received treatment on her right ankle just before play was halted by a thunderstorm.
During the 90-minute delay, Ruse pulled the plug on her effort, sending ninth seed Eala through.
Eala, the emerging WTA star who captured her first WTA title in Washington this month, will next play Amanda Anisimova after the American ninth seed beat Turk Zeynep Sonmez 6-2, 6-3.
As always, world number 20 Eala was supported by a vocal crowd of compatriots, with Philippines flags displayed in abundance.
The 21-year-old has enjoyed similar support around the world — in her run to the second week of Wimbledon, her breakthrough win in Washington and at this months’ 1000 event in Toronto, where she was beaten in the fourth round by Swiss veteran Belinda Bencic.
Eala and Ruse swapped breaks in the first two games before Eala ran off six straight games to pocket the set.
They got through three more games in the second before the weather threat sent them indoors.
“I was playing well and feeling really focused,” Eala said. “I tried to stay in the zone.
“A retirement is not the way you want to end a match, I wish her a speedy recovery. Injuries are not fun.”
Roland Garros finalist Maja Chwalinska advanced 6-2, 6-2 over Spain’s Cristina Busca,with the Pole getting her first win since Paris after suffering an injury at Wimbledon and taking a month away.
Anna Kalinskaya put out Cincinnati local Caty McNally 6-3, 6-4, while Magdalena Frech defeated Jelena Ostapenko 6-1, 6-3.
Main photo:- Thiago Tirante beating Novak Djokovic
Alexander Zverev kept up his winning ways as the top seed at the Cincinnati Masters advanced to the fourth round over France’s Terrance Atmane 7-6 (4), 7-6 (6) on Monday.
The German who won Roland Garros and lost to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final stretched his leading ATP season total of match wins to 46 as he beat a 2025 semi-finalist.
“This was a step up from my first match,” Zverev said of a previous encounter which ended at 2 a.m. last weekend.
“He was playing incredibly aggressively, hitting forehands all over the court.
“I’m happy to be through in straight sets. He made it difficult for you to play aggressive yourself.”
Fifth seed Alex de Minaur dealt with three rain interruptions but held his nerve for a win over British Wimbledon semi-finalist Arthur Fery 7-5, 7-6 (3).
De Minaur went to the locker room as the match was halted leading a set and 5-1 but needed all of his fighting spirit to pull off the win as Fery won six straght game before being halted
De Minaur overcame 29 unforced errors and got the win after two and a half hours.
“You never want to go into a rain delay leading 5-1,” the Aussie said. “It was a tough day with all the interruptions.
“I can’t remember a match that started and stopped so many times. I’m happy with how I found a way. But it was harder at the end than it should have been.”
The event lost Joao Fonseca, with the Brazilian pulling out before his Tuesday third-round match against Chris O’Connell due to a recurrence of an abdominal injury.
Spanish teen Rafael Jodar dominated Alejandro Tabilo of Chile 6-2, 6-1 and got the job done with a single unforced error.foraa 36th season win.
Argentine Thiago Tirante, who ousted Novak Djokovic in the second round, defeated Spain’s Martin Landaluce 7-6 (7/5), 7-6 (7/4).
Second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime returned to the courts six weeks after his last match, with the Canadian controlling Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-5 at the Cincinnati Masters for a winning comeback.
The Canadian sacked his coach and went to ground after losing a five set marathon quarter-final to Novak Djokovic in June, then pulled out last week from his home Masters event in Montreal with back pain.
He showed full fitness as he beat Tsitsipas, the 2022 Cincinnati finalist in 88 minutes,
He failed to serve it out while leading 5-4 in the second set but managed to finish off the 49th-ranked Greek two games later with an ace.
“It got really windy, it was pushing against me. I felt like I had no power in my serve,” FAA said..
“It was a tricky ending, but luckily I was able to get the break back. I was able to come back and serve it out better, with the wind this time.
Novak Djokovic is keeping tight-lipped about the unspecified health problem which contributed to his first-round exit at the Cincinnati Masters.
And the 39-year-old is giving absolutely nothing away as he works to be fit when the US Open starts in a fortnight in New York.
Djokovic was stunned as his physical reserves seemed to fade on court in the flatland American Midwest as he worked through a brutal match in 90 percent summer humidity but was unable to get over the line in the third against Argentine Thiago Tirante.
The No. 50 scored a 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 victory against the 24-time Grand Slam singles champion.
ATP No. 5 Djokovic, a three-time Cincinnati champion, was in no mood to speak but did give away a few details on what went wrong in a match where and at one point fell to his hands and knees at the back of the court – likely being sick.
“Congrats to my opponent. It was not an enjoyable match for me, for sure. The way I felt … Not the first and I guess not the last time, but it is what it is,” he said post-match
“It’s just a condition that I have, health-wise, that has been bothering me for the past couple of years.
“(It causes) a lot of issues, especially when it is humid and it is hot.
“I did anticipate it, but there are all these things, like nerves and everything involved that make it worse, and that’s what happened.”
The Serb added that he would probably not make a re-appearance at Cincinnati, the last major warm-up event prior to the start in New York.
“I certainly hope so (to play here again), but it looks more likely not, unfortunately. But let’s see what the future brings.”
Zverev keeps up winning pace in Cincy
USO under threat as major names face injury dramas
FAA ends his injury absence with Cincy success
-
ATP4 weeks agoTsitsipas tops week in Gstaad with first title in 16 months
-
ATP3 weeks ago17-year-old son of Lleyton, Cruz Hewitt earns first ATP title in DC
-
Cincinnati Masters4 weeks agoFoot fault: Injured Paolini to skip hardcourt start
-
Atlanta3 weeks agoTomic turnaround sends former bad boy to SF
-
Queens3 weeks agoRaducanu joins Draper on the no-show list
-
Prague open3 weeks agoBreakthrough Lilli scores first WTA title
-
ATP3 weeks agoSinner coach learns to live with player health episodes
-
ATP3 weeks agoDraper dumps Washington in fresh injury setback