Jannik Sinner “felt great on the court” as he annihilated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-0, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open semifinals with his 25th straight hardcourt match victory.
The world number one powered through a rapid-fire opening set and overcame a wobble as he started the second set by dropping serve.
The defending champion prevailed in a brief 71 minutes as he claimed an eighth victory in a row at this event and his 30th this season.
“I felt great on the court today, you could see that. But every day can be different. Let’s see what I can do in the semis,” said the Italian, who turns 24 on Saturday.
Sinner, playing his first tournament since his Wimbledon triumph, will face French qualifier Terence Atmane for a place in the final.
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Auger-Aliassime meekly lost the opening set after less than 30 minutes, delivering three double-faults in the final game.
After dropping his serve early in the second, Sinner broke back to level at 2-all, eventually advancing as Auger-Aliassime coughed up his eighth double fault on match point.
“I served well today, that was the key for me. I had a small drop in the second set, and I’m happy that I broke back. He moves and serves well; he’s difficult to play,” Sinner said.
Ben Shelton, the fifth seed coming off a title in Toronto, finished up the last of the men’s fourth-round matches with a 6-4, 6-4 defeat of Jiri Lehecka, punctuated by back-to-back aces to yield three match points.
Shelton came good on his second as Lehecka drilled a return wide.
“I’m hungry, I’m in a good rhythm, and the body feels good,” said Shelton, who will face third-seeded Alexander Zverev for the third time this season when they meet in the quarterfinals.
Zverev has won all three of their matches, including a quarterfinal here a year ago.
Content Source: sportstar.thehindu.com