Jannik Sinner survives Alex Michelsen challenge to advance in Cincinnati

Jannik Sinner, the top seed at the Cincinnati Masters, successfully defended against eight break points, securing a 6-4, 7-5 victory over US qualifier Alex Michelsen on Wednesday.

At 22 years old, Sinner, who will celebrate his 23rd birthday on Friday, has yet to advance beyond the third round at this American Midwest venue, but he aims to surpass that milestone this week.

This win, which lasted just under two hours, marked Sinner's 25th victory of the season, making him the first player to reach the third round of the ATP-WTA tournament, a significant event leading up to the US Open set to commence on August 26th. Since the Masters 1000 in Shanghai last October, Sinner has not been eliminated before the quarter-final stage in any tournament.

Michelsen, a teenager, struggled with 42 unforced errors, managing only 14 winners, which was half of Sinner's total. "It was a challenging match," Sinner remarked.

"I needed to acclimate to the conditions." He expressed satisfaction with advancing to the next round, acknowledging his past difficulties at this venue. "Today, I maintained a positive mindset, which contributed to my success."

Sinner, who missed the Paris Olympics due to tonsillitis and was eliminated in the Montreal quarter-finals last week, admitted he is not yet at peak performance.

"I am not at 100%, but my primary focus is the US Open," he stated. "I have one week after Cincinnati to prepare optimally. The matches I play here will be beneficial for the Open."

In another match, ninth seed Stefano Tsitsipas made his return after parting ways with his father as coach, overcoming Jan-Lennard Struff in a dramatic comeback, winning 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Tsitsipas found himself trailing by a set and 3-1 but rallied to turn the match around as his performance improved. The 2022 Cincinnati finalist concluded his victory with two aces.

Tsitsipas concluded the match with 31 winners, while Germany's Struff struggled with 48 unforced errors, which included 10 double faults. Tsitsipas successfully converted three of his 14 break-point opportunities.

"I was in an excellent state of flow on my serve towards the end of the match," Tsitsipas remarked. "I demonstrated significant improvement that positively influenced my performance.

"When I found myself in a difficult position, I continued to fight, regained the break, and identified effective strategies. I took calculated risks and managed to take the lead.

"I made a substantial effort to finish the match, varied my game, and it proved to be beneficial."

Seventh seed Casper Ruud discovered his next opponent for the second round as Felix Auger-Aliassime secured his place by defeating US qualifier Aleksandar Kovacevic with a score of 6-3, 6-1 in the first round.

Eighth seed Grigor Dimitrov, the champion of 2017, will face Fabian Marozsan, who triumphed over Corentin Moutet with a score of 6-3, 7-6(1).

Dane Holger Rune achieved his first career victory at this venue on his third attempt, overcoming former top-10 player Matteo Berrettini with a comeback score of 2-6, 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the second round.

This victory ended Berrettini's impressive 10-match winning streak, which included consecutive clay titles in Gstaad and Kitzbuehel.

In the women's competition, Paula Badosa advanced to the second round alongside her partner Tsitsipas after defeating local player Peyton Stearns with a score of 6-2, 7-5.

Badosa, who recently won in Washington, will next compete against 13th seed Anna Kalinskaya, who made a comeback to win against Katerina Siniakova with scores of 1-6, 6-2, 6-3.