Staff Reporter.
World number one Jannik Sinner extended his winning run on hard courts to 25 matches Thursday with a ruthless dismissal of Feliz Auger-Aliassime in the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals.
Playing in his first tournament since winning his fourth grand slam title at Wimbledon, Sinner, the top-ranked player in the world and the defending champion, powered to a 6-0, 6-2 victory over Auger-Aliassime.
Auger-Aliassime had won both his previous matches against Sinner but offered little resistance Thursday, with Sinner beginning and ending the contest with runs of six games in a row.
Sinner has not been beaten on his favorite surface since a loss to Carlos Alcaraz in Beijing in early October last year.
“I felt like I was returning very well,” said Sinner. “That was my key point, which gave me the confidence to serve well.
“I had a small drop in the second set when he broke me. I’m happy I broke him back quite early. I felt like I was performing some great tennis.”
In other men’s quarterfinals matches, seventh-seeded Holger Rune was eliminated by Terence Atmane 6-2, 6-3. No. 5 Ben Shelton cruised to a 6-4, 6-4 victory over No. 22 Jiri Lehecka in a fourth-round match.
Sinner will face Terence Atmane next after the French qualifier stunned seventh seed Holger Rune with a straight-set victory.
In the women’s fourth round, second seed Coco Gauff topped Italy’s Lucia Bronzetti 6-2, 6-4 and will next face seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, who eased to a 6-1, 6-2 victory over former Wimbledon champion Barbora Krejcikova.