World No. 1 Jannik Sinner secured his fourth-round spot at the Cincinnati Open with a 6-2, 7-6(6) victory against Gabriel Diallo, saving a set point en route.
Their third-round encounter had a strange break in the second game of the second set when a fire alarm sounded in the 1899 Club grandstand. Players took a brief break before continuing, playing four points before the alarm operated finally. Sinner clinched victory with a ripping forehand service return in the tie-break.
The Italian is currently on a 22-match hard-court winning run, dating from his defeat to Carlos Alcaraz in last October's Beijing final. In his first tournament since winning his first Wimbledon title, Sinner has a 27-3 season record and only 10 victories away from achieving 300 career victories. Earlier in the tournament, he became the second player to book his place in the ATP Finals in November, where he will defend his title. He will meet either Tommy Paul or Adrian Mannarino in his next match.
The start of Sinner’s match was pushed back due to Taylor Fritz’s contest with Lorenzo Sonego, which included a 75-minute power outage delay. Fritz, 27, claimed a 7-6(4), 7-5 victory without facing a single break point. After taking the opening set in 67 minutes, the American broke Sonego at 5-all in the second before serving out the match to love, securing his 38th win of the season.
Fritz, pursuing his first Masters 1000 title of 2024 and second of his career following his win in Indian Wells, will play either Brazil's Joao Fonseca or France's Terence Atmane in the next round. He is also the first American to be seeded top four at Cincinnati since Andy Roddick in 2007.
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