Carlos Alcaraz bounced back from a mid-match dip to defeat Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur 6-1, 2-6, 6-3 in the second round of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday. In the women’s draw, Coco Gauff overcame early serving struggles to cruise past Wang Xinyu of China 6-3, 6-2.
The second-ranked Spaniard has been in sensational form, reaching the finals in his last six tournaments. Alcaraz will next face either Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor or Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic.
Alcaraz began strongly but made a series of uncharacteristic errors in the second set. However, he regained his focus, skillfully outmaneuvering Dzumhur at the net before sealing the win with a powerful forehand.
Meanwhile, Gauff, despite hitting eight double faults in the first set, showed resilience to set up a third-round clash with Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska. The 2023 champion converted all five of her break point opportunities on Center Court and dominated the final stretch, winning 20 of her last 23 points on serve.
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“I had a shaky start with the serve but I was able to push through and figure that out,” Gauff told Tennis Channel. “Just taking my time and remembering the things we worked on in practice and not falling into the same old patterns.”
In other results, Reilly Opelka upset Australian Alex de Minaur 7-6(6), 6-4, while Gauff’s former doubles partner, fourth seed Jessica Pegula, breezed past Australian Kimberly Birrell 6-4, 6-3.
The evening schedule of the U.S. Open tune-up tournament includes Ben Shelton, the fifth-seeded American, facing Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli, while third-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany will take on American Nishesh Basavareddy.
