20 August,2021 07:00 AM IST | Cincinnati | AFP
Germany’s Alexander Zverev plays a forehand during his match against Lloyd Harris of South Africa in Ohio on Wednesday. Pics/Getty Images
Olympic champion Alexander Zverev, nicknamed Sascha, struck gold at the ATP Cincinnati Masters on Wednesday with his first victory at the US Open tune-up event in seven attempts.
The German has been deep in a rut from his first appearance in 2015 at the Midwest US venue, exiting in the first round every time. But that all changed as Zverev celebrated success with a 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 win over South African Lloyd Harris to break his duck.
"I'm happy where I'm at and I'm happy to get my first win in seven years here," he said. "It's obviously a great start to the week." The breakthrough victory was the seventh in a row for the 24-year-old. "When I came on court and they said Olympic gold medalist, it did give me goosebumps," Zverev said. "It made me a little nervous at the beginning of the match, I have to say, because it is a special feeling." Zverev now goes up against Argentine Guido Pella, a winner over Italy's Fabio Fognini 6-1, 7-5.
Number two seed Stefanos Tsitsipas fought off Sebastian Korda for a 7-6 (7/5), 6-3 victory that took the Toronto semi-finalist into the third round. The Greek won on his second match point as Korda drove a forehand long after 97 minutes. Tsitsipas next plays Italy's Lorenzo Sonego who beat American Tommy Paul 7-6 (11/9), 6-2.
Norway's eighth-seeded Casper Ruud out-aced American Reilly Opelka 21 to 17 on his way to a 6-7 (5/7), 6-0, 7-6 (7/4) victory.
Andy Murray's wild card run ended with a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 loss to Poland's Hubert Hurkacz. The Scotsman, who has been struggling to re-establish himself on tour after his latest injury - a groin problem - lost the second-round contest in one and three-quarter hours to the player who knocked Roger Federer out of Wimbledon. "This week was fairly positive. I played much better than at Wimbledon and the grass season," he said.
Olympic silver medallist Karen Khachanov joined Murrray in defeat as the Russian exited 6-7 (5/7), 6-3, 6-4 to Canada's 12th-seeded Felix Auger-Aliassime, who will face Wimbledon finalist Matteo Berrettini for a quarter-final place.
Meanwhile, Japan's Naomi Osaka battled back to take a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over American Coco Gauff on Wednesday and advance into the third round of the WTA Cincinnati Masters. "The first set was an experiment," Osaka said. "I was trying to see what was going on as I've not played that many matches. "I was just examining here and trying to stay calm, trying to keep a level head." Osaka said victory "means a lot to me, especially coming off Tokyo. She's not my favourite to play."
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