Cincinnati Masters 1000: Rinderknech Takes Down Ruud, Bonzi Ousts Musetti, Moutet Eliminated

The third day of competition got off to a strong start for the French players in contention in Cincinnati.

Arthur Rinderknech, who defeated Nuno Borges in the first round, faced Casper Ruud today, a three-time Grand Slam finalist. The Norwegian had recently made his return to competition in Toronto.

Despite losing the first set in a tiebreak, Rinderknech managed to take control in the next two sets thanks to 36 winners and 13 aces. He won 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 after a battle lasting over two and a half hours and will next face Félix Auger-Aliassime or Tomas Etcheverry.

The scenario was nearly identical for Benjamin Bonzi, who claimed the third top-10 win of his career by defeating world No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti. The Frenchman had initially served for the first set at 5-4 before faltering and losing three straight games to fall behind. But he dug deep to turn the match around, dominating the second set before sealing victory in a decisive third-set tiebreak.

A 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 win in 2 hours and 46 minutes earned him a spot in the third round in Cincinnati for the first time in his career. He could face Stefanos Tsitsipas next, should the Greek defeat Fabian Marozsan.

On the other hand, Corentin Moutet’s run ended in the second round after another three-set battle against Alex Michelsen (3-6, 6-3, 6-4). He may regret dropping his serve at 4-4 in the third set just after erasing the break deficit.