World No. 1breezed into the quarter-finals of the Cincinnati Open on Wednesday, defeating Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-1, 7-5 to claim her 50th match win of the season.
Fresh off a gruelling three-set victory over Emma Raducanu in the previous round, the Belarusian had a smoother outing this time, wrapping up the match in just 1 hour and 20 minutes.
“I was up a break, made a couple of mistakes and she broke me back,” Sabalenka said. “I’m glad to win in straight sets. I didn’t want to stay for three hours.”
Up next for Sabalenka is a blockbuster clash with 2022 Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who mounted a comeback to defeat Australian Open winner Madison Keys 6-7(3), 6-4, 6-2.
Elsewhere, Iga Swiatek secured her spot in the last eight with a straight-sets win over Sorana Cirstea, 6-4, 6-4, maintaining her unbeaten 5-0 record against the Romanian.
“We played many tough matches, so I know Sorana can really hit the ball well, especially on faster surfaces,” Swiatek noted. “Not many of my first serves went in, but I was happy I was solid on my second serves.”
Magda Linette also caused an upset, defeating American fourth seed Jessica Pegula 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3 in a match carried over from Tuesday due to rain. It marked Linette’s second top-10 win of the season.
On the men’s side, defending champion Jannik Sinner overcame Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 7-6(4) following a rain delay of nearly three hours.
“He is a very tough opponent. Very different from other opponents, not only because he is a lefty but how he hits the ball. It’s very low,” Sinner explained. “I just tried to serve well and tried to see what I could do in the return games.”
Also Read: Alcaraz, Gauff Advance to Cincinnati Open Third Round
The win marked Sinner’s 24th consecutive victory on hard courts. He now faces Canadian 23rd seed Felix Auger-Aliassime in what will be his fifth quarter-final of the year.
Second seed Carlos Alcaraz also moved into the quarters after a dominant 6-1, 6-4 win over Italy’s Luca Nardi.
“This match was the best so far for me in this tournament,” said Alcaraz. “I’m really happy with the way I felt the ball today and the way that I moved. I got used to the conditions, the humidity and heat.”
Alcaraz, who has won 36 of his last 38 matches, will next face ninth seed Andrey Rublev, who cruised past Francisco Comesana 6-2, 6-3.
Other Results: Zverev, Atmane Progress
Canadian Open champion Ben Shelton reached the last 16 after completing a rain-delayed 7-6(3), 6-3 win over Roberto Bautista Agut. He will take on Czech Jiri Lehecka next.
Alexander Zverev, the third seed, secured a quarter-final berth after Karen Khachanov retired mid-match with injury, trailing 7-5, 3-0. Zverev had earlier finished off a 6-4, 6-4 win over Brandon Nakashima after their match was suspended overnight.
Meanwhile, French qualifier Terence Atmane pulled off the biggest win of his career by upsetting American fourth seed Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to book his maiden Masters 1000 quarter-final spot. He will next play Danish seventh seed Holger Rune, who advanced after Frances Tiafoe retired due to a back injury.
