Sinner Hits The Ground Running, Cruises Into Cincinnati Open Semis

Jannik Sinner
Jannik Sinner (photo: Kathryn Riley, Wick Photography/Cincinnati Open)

CINCINNATI/WASHINGTON, August 15, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)

As reigning Cincinnati Open champion Jannik Sinner entered the quarterfinal round of the ATP Masters 1000 tournament Thursday afternoon, riding high on a 24-match winning streak on hard courts, he attempting to become fifth different male player to record 25 straight wins on the surface in this century, joining an impressive group of future Hall of Famers: Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, Andy Murray and Rafael Nadal.

The World No. 1 from Italy, who turns 24 on Saturday, also aimed to become first defending champion to reach the Cincinnati Open semifinals at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio since Djokovic in 2019 and to achieve his 30th win of the 2025 season.

Sinner faced World No. 28 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada, who turned 25 last week and brought a 2-0 head-to-head into the quarterfinal match against Sinner on P&G Center Court. Auger-Aliassime was looking to become the sixth man to record three wins over a World No. 1 this decade and to reach the fourth ATP Masters 1000 semifinal of his career.

However, by the end of their one-hour, 11-minute match, it was all Sinner, who hit the ground running from first ball to last ball – winning the first six games and last six games of the match – and won 6-0, 6-2, to advance to his fifth semifinal of the year in the six tournaments he’s competed in. Sinner has won 11 straight matches, dating back to the start of his Wimbledon run.

“I feel like every match is obviously different even if you play in the same year against the same player,” said Sinner, during his on-court interview after beating Auger-Aliassime for the first time. “I felt like I was returning very, very well today. That was my key point, it gave me confidence to serve well. I had a small drop in the second set in the beginning. It could have been a small change, but I’m happy I broke him back early [in the set]. 

“It’s very difficult to play against him. He’s serves very well, he moves well, physically he is in incredible shape. He hits his forehand very well. We prepared in the best possible way tactically. Today, I felt like I was performing to my best.”

Sinner jumped out to a double-break lead to open the match, taking advantage of nine unforced errors by the Canadian No. 1 while winning all but two points on his serve. He won the 28-minute first set 6-0 after breaking Auger-Aliassime for a third time in five tries and outpointed him 25-10. Then, after Sinner fell behind 0-2 to start the second set, he won six consecutive games to close out his 30th victory in 33 outings this season. Sinner has won eight straight Cincinnati matches going back to the start of his 2024 championship run.

By the end of the quarterfinal, Sinner had won 78 percent (18 of 23) of his first-serve points and 64 percent (29 of 45) return points. He hit seven winners, made only 12 unforced errors, converted six of 10 break points and outpointed Auger-Aliassime 57-27. Sinner took full advantage of Auger-Aliassime’s 28 unforced errors.

“Today I felt great on court,” Sinner said. “I think you saw that but every day is going to be different. Tomorrow is a day off, which is good for me. We will try and put some reps in and then see what I can do in the semis.”

Atmane pulls off second-straight Top-10 upset

Next, Sinner will face 136th-ranked qualifier Terence Atmane of France, who scored his second-straight Top-10 upset by defeating World No. 9 Holger Rune of Denmark, 6-2, 6-3, in an hour and 13 minutes on P&G Center Court Thursday night.

The seventh-seeded Rune, 22, was bidding to become the youngest man to reach back-to-back Cincinnati Open semifinals since Djokovic and Murray in 2008-09 against Atmane in their first meeting. Instead, by losing, Rune will drop outside the ATP Top 10. As for Atmane, playing with an attitude that he has nothing to lose, his PIF ATP Live Ranking has risen to at least No. 69 as his dream week on the ATP Tour continues to amaze everyone.

Atmane’s upset of World No. 4 Taylor Fritz of the United States in the fourth round Wednesday confirmed his Top-100 debut next week. His win over Rune has given Atmane multiple Top-10 wins in the same event – something that hasn’t been achieved since No. 152 Borna Coric en route to winning the 2022 Cincinnati title. Plus, Atmane becomes the seventh Frenchman and fourth qualifier to reach the Cincinnati singles semifinals in the Open Era.

In the opening set, Atmane broke Rune for a 3-1 lead. It happened after he endured a 13-minute game that included eight deuces and saw the athletic, 23-year-old lefty push through on his fifth break-point opportunity. Atmane went on to win the 37-minute opening set 6-2, in which he hit 13 winners, converted two of six break points and dropped just two points on his first serve.

Then, on serve through seven games of the second set, Atmane broke Rune to push ahead 5-3. Finally, he served out the victory in the ensuing game, consolidating the break with his sixth and seventh aces and winning on his third match point.

Atmane hit 21 winners, won 85 percent (28 of 33) of his first-serve points, converted four of 11 break-point chances and outpointed Rune 63-47.

“I don’t think any words can describe how I feel right now,” Atmane said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “It’s pretty insane to be honest. I cannot believe it. Being here in the semifinals of a Masters 1000, breaking into the Top 100 and even more with the win tonight — it’s also a lot of money for me, so it’s going to be very helpful for my career. It means a lot to me to be honest. I’m very emotional about it.”

Around the Cincinnati Open

In last remaining fourth-round match, World No. 6 Ben Shelton of the United States defeated No. 22 seed Jiri Lehecka of Czechia, 6-4, 6-4, in one hour and 21 minutes on the Grandstand. The only American man left in the draw, the fifth-seeded Shelton defeated Lehecka in the Stuttgart quarterfinals in June to break inside the ATP Top 10.

Now, Shelton (35-16) is enjoying a career-best nine-match winning streak after winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title in Toronto last week. With his win Thursday, the 22-year-old Shelton is the first American man to reach both the Canadian and Cincinnati quarterfinals in the same season since Mardy Fish in 2012. He’s also the seventh ATP player born in the 2000s to reach five ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinals.

Meanwhile, the Czech No. 3 Lehecka, ranked 26th, was denied in his quest to earn his fourth Top-10 win of the season and to advance to his 21st career tour-level quarterfinal – and sixth of this season.

Shelton broke Lehecka from 4-all in both sets. He finished with 20 winners – including eight aces – and won 81 percent (26 of 32) of his first-serve points. Shelton converted three of eight break-point chances and outpointed Lehecka 64-50.

“I’m hungry, I’m in a good rhythm,” Shelton said during his on-court interview, asked to denote the key behind his winning streak. “I’m playing good tennis and my body feels good. I think the confidence along with not being satisfied, wanting to prove myself over and over every time that I’m out on the court, and having things that I want to get better at is a huge motivation for me and it pushes me every match.”

Shelton is now 29-1 in matches in which he’s won the first set. Should Shelton prevail over World No. 3 and third seed Alexander Zverev on Friday in their quarterfinal showdown, he would move up to World No. 5 in the PIF ATP Rankings next week.

Thursday’s Cincinnati Open results

Friday’s Cincinnati Open order of play

By the numbers

Alex de Minaur of Australia leads all players with the most hard-court wins this season with 24, followed by Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton with 22 each.

“Quotable …”

“I think this match was the best so far for me in this tournament. At the beginning of the tournament, I just really wanted to get better every day, after every practice and every match. I think I’m doing it, which I’m really proud about. I’m just really happy with the way I felt the ball today and the way that I moved.”

– World No. 2 and second seed Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, during his on-court interview Wednesday evening after defeating 98th-ranked Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi 6-1, 6-4 in 80 minutes.

 

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