JANNIK SINNER REACHES CINCINNATI FINAL; IGA SWIATEK OUSTED

MASON, Ohio -- Top-ranked Jannik Sinner outlasted Alexander Zverev in a third-set tiebreaker Sunday to reach the Cincinnati Open final, while No. 1 Iga Swiatek fell to No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka in the women's semifinals.

In the final Monday, Sinner will play American Frances Tiafoe, and Sabalenka will meet American Jessica Pegula.

Sinner emerged with a 7-6 (9), 5-7, 7-6 (4) victory after 3 hours, 7 minutes, tying Casper Ruud for the ATP Tour lead by reaching his fifth final of the season. In the late match, Tiafoe rallied to beat 15th-seeded Holger Rune 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4).

Sinner leads the tour with four titles this season.

The first set against Zverev lasted more than an hour and the match also was suspended for 30 minutes by rain.

Zverev, the No. 4 seed, had won four straight meetings against Sinner. Sinner finished with a 124-121 edge in total points.

"I think we both raised our level when it counted," Sinner said. "The tiebreaker can go both ways. I just tried to stay there mentally. Obviously, I'm happy to be in the final."

Sinner, who's been dealing with a right hip issue, was seen grabbing that area early in Sunday's match but said he came through fine physically.

"Sometimes I feel it," Sinner said. "I have to check after this tournament here. I haven't had too much time to recover before coming here. I'm not worried yet. I'm happy to play."

Sabalenka reached the final in Cincinnati for the first time with a 6-3, 6-3 victory over Swiatek, ending the five-time Grand Slam winner's 15-match winning streak and avenging losses in the finals in Madrid and Rome.

"Really happy with the win, especially against Iga, who is always a tough battle," Sabalenka said. "To get the win in straight sets, that's kind of an achievement for me."

Swiatek, who's been on top of the WTA rankings for 116 weeks, was satisfied with her week in Cincinnati.

"I pretty much did better than I expected, honestly, especially on this surface," Swiatek said. "I'm happy with the result anyway, and already focusing on what I need to do to feel even better in New York."

The US Open begins Aug. 26. Swiatek won the title in 2022.

Pegula, the No. 6 seed, beat Paula Badosa 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 after their semifinal was suspended more than an hour by rain.

She is the third American to reach the finals in Canada -- where she successfully defended her title last Monday -- and Cincinnati in a calendar year, the first since Serena Williams in 2013.

"We've had a lot of great battles in the past," Sabalenka said. "She's a great player. Going to be another great match."

- Associated Press

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FRUSTRATED CARLOS ALCARAZ FAILS TO GAEL MONFILS IN CINCINNATI

Carlos Alcaraz repeatedly smashed his racket on the court in a rare show of frustration. "Today, I couldn't [control those feelings]. I was feeling that I was not playing any kind of tennis. ... At some point, I didn't want to be on the court anymore." Susan Mullane/USA TODAY Sports

CINCINNATI -- Carlos Alcaraz repeatedly smashed his racket on the court in a rare show of frustration on Friday, and the four-time Grand Slam winner fell to Gael Monfils 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 at the Cincinnati Open.

In a match that was suspended by rain on Thursday night with the players in a second-set tiebreaker, the 37-year-old Monfils advanced by taking the last two sets from the second-seeded Alcaraz, who called the loss his "worst match."

"I felt like it was the worst match that I've ever played in my career," Alcaraz said. "I've been practicing really well. I was feeling great. But I couldn't play. I want to forget it and try to move on to New York."

The US Open begins there on Aug. 26.

Trailing 3-1 in the tiebreaker when the match was halted, Alcaraz was hoping for a reset when play resumed Friday. But the No. 3 player in the ATP rankings couldn't control his emotions.

"It never happened before, because I could control those feelings," Alcaraz said. "Today, I couldn't. I was feeling that I was not playing any kind of tennis. It was really frustrating for me. At some point, I didn't want to be on the court anymore."

Alcaraz was playing his first match since earning a silver medal at the Paris Olympics after losing to Novak Djokovic, who also beat him last year in the Cincinnati final.

Monfils returned to the court later Friday and lost to No. 15 seed Holger Rune 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.

"It was a big win for me against Carlos, unexpected to be honest," Monfils said. "To play again in a couple hours against [another] good and younger player, I knew it would be tough."

In women's action, top-ranked Iga Swiatek advanced to the quarterfinals with a convincing 6-2, 6-2 win over Marta Kostyuk.

Swiatek bounced back with a more complete performance after losing a second-set tiebreak on Wednesday before outlasting France's Varvara Gracheva.

"Today, I just kept my intensity at a high level all the time," Swiatek said. "It didn't really matter to me what the score was, I just wanted to continue playing my game. I focused on myself."

No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka also advanced with a 7-5, 6-2 victory over Elina Svitolina, but No. 5 Jasmine Paolini, the runner-up at the French Open and Wimbledon, lost to Mirra Andreeva 3-6, 6-3, 6-2.

Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova upset No. 7 and Olympic gold medalist Qinwen Zheng 7-5, 6-1. Spaniard Paula Badosa defeated Yulia Putintseva, who upset Coco Gauff on Thursday, 6-4, 6-4.

Top men to advance included No. 1 Jannik Sinner, who got a walkover against Jordan Thompson on his 23rd birthday, No. 3 Alexander Zverev, No. 5 Hubert Hurkacz, No. 6 Andrey Rublev and 12th-ranked American Ben Shelton.

- Associated Press 

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