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Jannik Sinner defeated Gabriel Diallo 6-2, 7-6 at the Cincinnati Open despite power failures and alarms, marking his 23rd straight hard-court victory.
Jannik Sinner beat Gabriel Diallo in straight sets (Picture credit: AFP)
Jannik Sinner overcame power failures and a blaring alarm to beat Gabriel Diallo 6-2, 7-6 (8/6) on Monday at the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Open, a day filled with distractions.
The top-seeded defending champion focused on his game against the 35th-ranked Canadian, who struggled with eight double-faults in the first set and committed 49 unforced errors throughout the match.
Sinner recovered smoothly from an early break and faced challenges on his way to the fourth round, ultimately securing victory with an ace on match point after saving a set point in the tiebreaker.
Play was briefly halted with Sinner leading 4-2 due to a failure in the audio portion of the electronic line-calling system.
Earlier, both players dealt with flickering LED screens behind them, courtside. They agreed to continue without the system, with the chair umpire relaying the algorithm’s decisions from his tablet while a reboot was attempted.
This minor malfunction occurred two hours after a widespread power outage stopped play for 75 minutes.
Five minutes later, with Sinner leading 1-0 in the second set after winning the first, an alarm went off, causing another suspension of play.
Sinner and Diallo continued despite the faintly blaring alarm, which eventually stopped after another game.
Sinner completed his 23rd consecutive hard-court victory in under two hours.
“It was a very difficult day at the office,” the Italian said. “You have to find the balance against these big servers. I struggled with that at times today. But I need tough matches like this, I’m happy I got one before the Grand Slam… I’m happy about today, but I know I can do things better.”
US fourth seed Taylor Fritz faced a one-hour delay after the first set before defeating Lorenzo Sonego 7-6 (7/4), 7-5, marking his 21st win in 25 matches.
“I can play better, but there has been no time to train and get ready,” Fritz said. “I’m looking forward to fine-tuning the week before the US Open.”
Compatriot Frances Tiafoe advanced past Ugo Humbert of France 6-4, 6-4 in 82 minutes and will next face Holger Rune, who beat Alex Michelsen 7-6 (7/4), 6-3.
In the WTA event, top-ranked Aryna Sabalenka fought through a three-hour battle to hold off an inspired Emma Raducanu 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5) for a fourth-round spot, repeating her victory from the Wimbledon third round in July.
Defending champion Sabalenka endured a struggle but finished with two aces in the closing stages.
“I’m happy to get through this difficult match,” Sabalenka said. “I just hope tomorrow is a day off. I need time to recover from such a great battle.”
British number one Raducanu survived a 25-minute eighth game of the final set, which went to 13 deuces, saving four break points before finally holding for 4-all and eventually forcing a tiebreaker.
Sabalenka secured victory with a sixth ace for 5-4 in the tiebreaker and delivered her seventh on her second match point, winning in three hours and nine minutes.
“It was all about momentum,” Sabalenka said. “I took some risks at the end, went for crazy shots, went to the net.”
Sabalenka is aiming for her 10th trophy at the 1000 level and second this season after winning in Madrid.
“I can take lessons from this,” Raducanu said. “With work and practice, I think I can hold my level higher for longer. She’s world number one for a reason. We had a three-hour match and I felt pretty good out there for the most part.”
Raducanu was called out by the chair umpire for unauthorised conversations with her new Spanish coach, Francisco Roig.
Australian Open champion Madison Keys lost just four games in defeating Japan’s Aoi Ito.
Spain’s Jessica Bouzas Maneiro ousted American wild card Taylor Townsend 6-4, 6-1 and will face Sabalenka on Wednesday.
(With AFP Inputs)
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