Aryna Sabalenka, Coco Gauff and Taylor Fritz all advanced to the last 16 of the Cincinnati Open with straight-set victories on Tuesday.
World number one Sabalenka produced a dominant display against China’s Wang Xinyu, winning 6-1, 6-3 in just 54 minutes.
The victory was Sabalenka’s 45th consecutive win at Masters 1000 level. She will face Czech qualifier Sara Bejlek in the fourth round.
Fourth seed Gauff, the 2023 champion, also progressed after beating fellow American Ann Li 6-1, 7-6 (3). Gauff dominated the opening set before being pushed in a tighter second set.
Mirra Andreeva, the fifth seed and reigning French Open champion, defeated Indonesia’s Janice Tjen 6-1, 7-6 (5) to book her place in the last 16.
Madison Keys also advanced with a 6-1, 6-3 victory over Katerina Siniakova, while eighth seed Elina Svitolina withdrew before her match against Wang Xiyu because of an ankle injury.
On the men’s side, second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime defeated Argentina’s Juan Manuel Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1.
Fifth seed Taylor Fritz eased past Spain’s Daniel Merida 6-3, 6-4, hitting eight aces during his 83-minute victory. He will face Australia’s Chris O’Connell in the fourth round.
Italian 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti also progressed after defeating American Michael Zheng 6-1, 6-3.
One of the biggest upsets came from Portugal’s Nuno Borges, who defeated 2021 runner-up Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4.
The result ended Borges’ five-match losing streak against Rublev and means the Russian will drop out of the world’s top 20 for the first time since January 2020.
Borges will now look to continue his run after describing his performance as one of his best, saying he “played amazing” to reach the fourth round.
