Alcaraz battles past Dzumhur, Gauff and Pegula move ahead

Carlos Alcaraz fought through a second-set slump to post a “rollercoaster” 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 victory over Damir Dzumhur in his opening match Sunday at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open.

The Spaniard, playing his first tournament since losing to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon final, raced through the first set but completely lost his way in the second, dropping his serve twice against the 33-year-old Bosnian.

Alcaraz regained his intensity and cut down his errors in the third as a seventh ace took him to a match point that was converted when Dzumhur fired wide.

“It was just a rollercoaster,” said the second seed, who was winning his 12th straight match at the Masters 1000 level after taking the titles in Monte Carlo and Rome.

“Lots of good feelings, bad feelings, back to the good ones. I am happy to get the win at the end. I know that I have chances to do better.

“I will use the day off tomorrow to get my confidence back. It was a little tricky, I need to play smart tennis.”

Alcaraz committed 44 unforced errors and said conditions in Cincinnati, where he was runner-up in 2023, were always tricky.

“The ball flies a lot, goes super fast,” he said. “You have to be ready to be in a good position for each shot and that is really difficult to do.”

Alcaraz, runner-up in Cincy in 2023, next faces Serb Hamad Medjedovic, a 6-4, 7-6 (7/3) winner over Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor.

Third seed Alexander Zverev found things more straightforward, winning 6-3, 6-3 against US wild card Nishesh Basavareddy in the night session.

Zverev needed just 66 minutes to get past Basavareddy, a 20-year-old ranked 109th in the world.

The German put 41 of his 50 first serves in play and didn’t face a break point. Basavareddy saved one match point with a blistering service return but Zverev secured the win with his 12th ace.

American Ben Shelton, coming off his first Masters 1000 title in Toronto, eased through 6-3, 3-1 when Camilo Ugo Carabelli retired with a knee injury.

Shelton’s early night was a boon after a draining Toronto tournament which only ended on Thursday night.

“It’s not easy to play a couple of days after winning any title,” Shelton said.

“I feel for Camilo and it’s obviously not the way that you want to go through. I hope that he has a quick recovery.”

Asked about the tape on his own right thigh, Shelton said he has “a few muscle things” going on.

“The legs take a lot of force,” he said.

Sixth seed Alex de Minaur of Australia, the Washington champion, lost to American Reilly Opelka 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.

But another Australian, Adam Walton, secured a first top-50 win of his career with a 6-7 (0/7), 6-4, 6-1 upset of former world number one and 2019 Cincy champion Daniil Medvedev of Russia.

Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut dismissed Briton Cam Norrie 6-4, 6-3 while number nine seed Andrey Rublev beat American Learner Tien 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.

In the women’s draw, French Open champion Coco Gauff battled through a tough first set to beat China’s Wang Xinyu 6-3, 6-2.

Gauff, who lifted the trophy in Cincinnati in 2023 and went on to claim her first Grand Slam title at the US Open that year, had to grind her way through the first set.

But the number two seed steadied in the second to run out the winner in 71 minutes.

She converted on all five break point chances she got on Center Court and was firing on all cylinders as she won 20 of her last 23 points on serve.

“It was a rough start,” Gauff said. “But it was about just trusting myself and the work we’ve done in practice.

Third seed Jessica Pegula, runner-up last year to Aryna Sabalenka, defeated Kimberly Birrell 6-4, 6-3.

Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, finalist last season at Roland Garros and Wimbledon, also advanced, beating Maria Sakkari of Greece 7-6 (7/2), 7-6 (7/5).

No. 8 seed Emma Navarro Navarro fell to qualifier Ella Seidel, a 20-year-old German ranked No. 124.

Agencies