World number one Jannk Sinner saved all eight break points in his 6-4 7-5 win over Alex Michelsen at the Cincinnati Open.
Sinner bounced back from a defeat in the quarter final against Andrey Rublev in Montreal.
Sinner has improved his record to 25-2 on hard-courts this season. The Australian Open will face either Sebastian Baez or Jordan Thompson for a spot in the quarter final. Sinner ha reached that stage at all five previous Masters 1000 tournaments.
Sinner saved three break points in the opening set and five in the second set. He earned breaks in the first game and in the 11thgame of the second set.
“It a tough match. He played already some matches but for me it was the first match here, so I tried to feel the conditions a bit more. I am very happy to be in the next round. For me it’s a place where I used to struggle a lot in the past years, so let’s see what I can do this time”, said Sinner.
Stefanos Tsitsipas rallied from a set and a break down to beat Jan Lennard Struff 4-6 6-4 6-3. The Greek player bounced back from his first round defeat against Kei Nishikori at the Canadian Open. Tsitsipas will face either Jack Draper or Jaume Munar in the next round.
Struff earned his first break in the ninth game to win the first set 6-4. Struff went up a set and a break to take a 2-1 lead. Tsitsipas broke back in the sixth game to draw level to 3-3. Tsitsipas broke for the second time in the 10th game to win the second set 6-4. Tsitsipas converted his fifth break point and sealed the win on his first match point.
“I was down a break, and I managed to keep on fighting and get the break back. I felt like I was starting to figure out what really worked behind his serve. He made a few double faults, and I took that chance, got myself in the lead, and I think once I started reminding myself of my best qualities as a player, these things really started working”, said Tsitsipas.
