The Cincinnati Open has delivered its fair share of surprises, as several of the top American stars, Madison Keys, Taylor Fritz, Jessica Pegula, and Frances Tiafoe, have all exited the tournament before the quarterfinals.
An American Exodus
Madison Keys
In a tight match, Keys fell to Elena Rybakina, dropping the opening set in a tiebreak before succumbing 6-7, 6-4, 6-2. Rybakina’s power and consistency proved decisive in the end.
Taylor Fritz
The biggest upset on the men’s side came from French qualifier Terence Atmane (ranked No. 136), who rallied past Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 6-3. Atmane made history as the first qualifier since 2022 to reach the quarterfinals at a Masters 1000, and will head into the top-100 with this result.
Jessica Pegula
Seeded No. 4, Pegula was knocked out in a back-and-forth battle against Magda Linette. The match spanned two days due to weather interruptions, ending with Linette victorious 7-6(5), 3-6, 6-3.
Frances Tiafoe
Last year’s finalist, Tiafoe, retired mid-match against Holger Rune, struggling with back spasms. Despite his team urging him to continue after treatment, he called it quits with Rune leading 6-4, 3-1.
Who’s still there?
Despite the American departures, Cincinnati still boasts a strong field with these among others:
- Iga Swiatek, the third seed, beat Sorana Cîrstea 6-4, 6-3 to reach the women’s quarterfinals.
- On the men’s side, Jannik Sinner, the top seed and defending champion, overcame qualifier Adrian Mannarino 6-4, 7-6(4), extending his hard-court winning streak.
- Carlos Alcaraz, expected to go deep and defeated Luca Nardi with no major problems.
- Andrey Rublev, the Russian looks solid, can he challenge the top names this time?
- Ben Shelton, the best US player at the moment, seem to be continuing his form from the win in Canada.
- Alexander Zverev also moves through to the quarters after Karen Khachanov withdrew due to fatigue mid-match.
- Terence Atmane continues his Cinderella run, now set to face Rune in the next round.
This year’s Cincinnati Open did undergo a major transformation. The venue has doubled in size, added new facilities, shaded spaces, and courts, overall they spent over $200M to renovate the facilities. It’s hard to to anything about the weather though and we’ve seen hot and humid weather combined with sudden storms, often delaying the games.
