Cincinnati Masters 1000: Alcaraz Delivers, Auger-Aliassime Stops Bonzi, Zverev Advances via Retirement

The schedule in Cincinnati has been consistently disrupted by rain since the start of the tournament. After the qualifying rounds featuring Holger Rune and Jannik Sinner, several ATP Tour stars took to the courts overnight from Wednesday to Thursday, aiming to secure a spot in the quarterfinals of this Masters 1000 event in Ohio. World No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz held his ground.

Facing Luca Nardi, a lucky loser who had defeated Tirante, Shapovalov, and Mensik (via retirement) in the first three rounds, Alcaraz was more efficient than in his previous matches against Dzumhur and Medjedovic.

Largely untroubled, the Spaniard dominated the Italian for the second time this season (6-1, 6-4), following his victory in the second round of the ATP 500 tournament in Doha earlier this year (6-1, 4-6, 6-3). In the quarterfinals, Alcaraz will face Andrey Rublev, who defeated Francisco Comesaña (6-2, 6-3).

However, while Terence Atmane pulled off an upset against Taylor Fritz, Benjamin Bonzi’s run ended in the round of 16. Facing Félix Auger-Aliassime, the Frenchman—who had delivered strong performances to eliminate Arnaldi, Musetti, and Tsitsipas—was this time halted by the Canadian (6-4, 6-3).

The world No. 28, who previously defeated Etcheverry and Rinderknech, continues his momentum and will face Jannik Sinner, against whom he has never lost in two meetings, for a shot at the semifinals.

Finally, Alexander Zverev also secured his place in the quarterfinals. Forced to return on Wednesday to finish his match against Brandon Nakashima, the German followed up overnight against Karen Khachanov.

After losing to the Russian in the semifinals in Toronto last week, Zverev capitalized on his opponent’s retirement this time (7-5, 3-0 ret.) to advance to the quarterfinals, where he will face either Ben Shelton or Jiri Lehecka.