Djokovic, Alcaraz going strong

Cincinnati, August 18

Novak Djokovic cruised past Gael Monfils and Carlos Alcaraz fended off in-form American Tommy Paul to reach the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals yesterday while other top seeds Daniil Medvedev and Stefanos Tsitsipas were sent packing.

Djokovic, twice a winner in Cincinnati, dominated the baseline rallies in his 6-3 6-2 win over Monfils and extended his perfect record against the Frenchman to 19-0 — the most lopsided unbeaten ATP head-to-head record in the Open Era.

World No. 1 Alcaraz had not looked like himself in an uneven third round performance on Tuesday but was firing on all cylinders yesterday as he harnessed his mighty forehand to chip away at Paul’s defenses in the rain-interrupted battle.

Paul cracked the code to beat the 20-year-old earlier this month in Toronto but a handful more errors from the 14th seed this time around helped Alcaraz get the upper hand in his 7-6(6) 6-7(0) 6-3 victory.

Alexander Zverev upset third seed Medvedev 6-4 5-7 6-4 in a clash between former champions. Poland’s unseeded Hubert Hurkacz unleashed 11 aces and 27 winners to cruise past Tsitsipas 6-3 6-4.

In the women’s section, Iga Swiatek used an outfit change to help her reset after a poor start and beat China’s Zheng Qinwen 3-6 6-1 6-1 and set up a quarterfinal clash with Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova.

Second seed Aryna Sabalenka sailed into the last-eight with a tidy 6-3 6-3 win over Russia’s Daria Kasatkina but it was the end of the line for world No. 3 Jessica Pegula and No. 4 Elena Rybakina. Pegula, champion in Canada last week and winner of a Tour best 27 hardcourt matches this season, was dumped out 6-4 6-0 in a rain disrupted contest by Czech Marie Bouzkova, who improved to 4-2 against the American. Last year’s Wimbledon champion Rybakina had looked poised for smooth passage, taking the opening set against Italian qualifier Jasmine Paolini 6-4, but retired trailing 2-5 in the second with an unspecified injury. — Reuters