OHIO: World No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka, the second-ranked female player, both secured straight-set victories in the finals of the Cincinnati Open on Monday, marking their inaugural titles at this tournament.
Sabalenka triumphed over Jessica Pegula 6-3, 7-5, claiming her first title since the Australian Open held in January. Meanwhile, Sinner, who celebrated his 23rd birthday on Friday, defeated American Frances Tiafoe 7-6 (4), 6-2, thus becoming the youngest champion in Cincinnati since Andy Murray, who was 21 when he won in 2008.
“I’m very happy to be in the position where I am,” Sinner remarked. “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 is set to commence on August 26 in New York. Both Sinner and Tiafoe were competing in their first Cincinnati finals, having previously reached only the third round in their prior appearances.
Tiafoe managed to push the first set into a tiebreak, but a series of three consecutive errors resulted in a 7-6 loss. Sinner established a 5-1 advantage in the second set, and although Tiafoe saved three match points to narrow the score to 5-2, Sinner ultimately served out the match for victory. Tiafoe’s journey to the final was somewhat unconventional; he won the first set in the quarterfinals before Hubert Hurkacz retired due to a calf injury and later saved two match points to overcome Holger Rune in three sets during the semifinals.
It has been since 2006 that an American man has claimed the title in Cincinnati, with Andy Roddick being the last. Prior to the match, Sabalenka ascended to the No. 2 position in the rankings and did not drop a set on her way to securing her 15th WTA title, having never advanced beyond the semifinals in Cincinnati, where she had faced defeat three times.
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 to the tour at 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-all, but Sabalenka won the next two games to finish off the 1-hour, 14-minute match.
“She was playing at a high level and never really came down,” Pegula said. “When she’s serving really well, it’s tough, especially on these fast courts.”
The sixth-ranked Pegula had a challenging road to the final. After defending her title at Toronto, the American played two matches on Friday because of weather-related postponements and had three matches go three sets. Her time on the court exceeded Sabalenka’s by more than two 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 titles since 2020. She beat Swiatek in the Cincinnati semis.
