World number one Aryna Sabalenka and third seed Iga Swiatek secured quarterfinal spots in the Cincinnati Open on Thursday (IST).
Defending champion Sabalenka dominated Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-1, 7-5 to reach her 50th win of the year. She will next face former Wimbledon champion Elena Rybakina, who came from behind to defeat Australian Open winner Madison Keys 6-7 (3/7), 6-4, 6-2.
Swiatek advanced to her third straight Cincinnati quarterfinal with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Sorana Cirstea, finishing the match in 1 hour and 35 minutes. The Pole opened up with a fiery beginning, hitting three clean winners to earn an early break in the first game and maintaining the edge throughout the first set.
Cirstea's two double faults gave Swiatek a head start in the second set, but the world No. 3 retaliated with two double faults of her own in the following game. Swiatek then ran out to 4-1 before she was broken again, but held her nerve and wrapped up the victory on her first match point with a forehand winner.
"We had many challenging matches, so I know Sorana is really capable of hitting the ball well — particularly on quicker surfaces. So I was prepared. I'm glad that I was solid enough. I was attempting to be proactive with serve — not a lot of my first serves were in, but I was glad I was solid on second serves," Swiatek stated following the match, as reported by the WTA.
Cincinnati is one of just three WTA 1000 events that Swiatek has not made a final in. She has been a semifinalist the last two years, falling to Coco Gauff in 2023 and Sabalenka in 2024. Her next will be Anna Kalinskaya, who defeated No. 12 seed Ekaterina Alexandrova 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-1.
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