CINCINNATI: Carlos Alcaraz was halted by rain on the brink of victory Thursday while defending women’s champion Coco Gauff crashed out in her first match at the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Open.

Spaniard Alcaraz, the reigning Wimbledon and French Open champion, led France’s Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-6 (1-3) when rain halted play at the last major tune-up for the US Open, which starts on Aug 26.

Top seed Alcaraz, who lost to Novak Djokovic in last year’s Cincinnati final, took a silver medal at the Paris Olympics, also dropping that final to Djokovic.

Alcaraz is back on hardcourt for the first time since winning at Miami. He skipped last week’s ATP Montreal Masters.

Gauff was eliminated earlier in a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 upset loss to Kazakh spoiler Yulia Putintseva.

A disappointed Gauff will go back to the drawing board before defending her US Open crown.

Putintseva, ranked 34th, has made a recent habit of upsets, knocking off top-ranked Iga Swiatek barely a month ago at Wimbledon.

Gauff became Cinci­nnati’s youngest champion a year ago at age 19 and carried that success into her first Grand Slam triumph at the US Open.

Putintseva will next face Spain’s Paula Badosa, who defeated Anna Kalinskaya 6-3, 6-2.

Third seed Aryna Sabal­enka polished her opening-match record at the event by defeating Italy’s Elisa­betta Cocciaretto 6-3, 6-4.

Men’s third seed Alexander Zverev, the 2021 champion from Ger­many, won his ATP-leading 50th mat­ch this season. The German dispat­ched Karen Khach­anov 6-3, 6-2 in a repeat of his Tokyo Olympic final win.

Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta lined up the German’s next opponent after defeating Australian Max Purcell 6-3, 6-3.

Briton Jack Draper accounted for ninth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, who lost 3-6, 6-4, 7-5. The Greek served for the match leading 5-4 in the third set, but Draper won 12 of the last 14 points to turn the situation on its head.

Holger Rune defeated Portugal’s top player Nuno Borges 6-3, 7-6 (10-8).

Fifth seed Hubert Hurkacz, who made a comeback from a knee surgery by reaching last week’s Montreal quarter-finals, won his ope­ner over Yoshihito Nishioka 3-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-1.

He next faces Italian Flavio Cobolli, who advanced when compatriot Luca Darderi retired trailing 7-6 (7-4), 3-1 with apparent illness.

In the WTA draw, Elena Rybakina was thwarted in her first match since Wimbledon, going down 3-6, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4 as Canadian Leylah Fernandez saved two match points in an upset of the fourth seed.

Elina Svitolina, a semi-finalist here nine years ago, saw off Spaniard Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-4, 6-1 to next take on Sabalenka.

Newly minted Armenian Elina Avanesyan stunned eighth seed Jelena Ostapenko with a 2-6, 6-2, 6-2 fightback.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2024