Frenchmen Benjamin Bonzi and Arthur Rinderknech scored stunning upset victories on Saturday to advance to the third round of the Cincinnati Open at Mason, Ohio.
Bonzi rallied for a 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (4) win over No. 8 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy while Rinderknech also recovered from a first-set loss to post a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2 triumph over 11th-seeded Casper Ruud of Norway.
Bonzi saved 9 of 14 break points in the match that took two hours, 49 minutes. Musetti held a one-game lead five times in the final set before Bonzi forced a third-set tiebreaker. The tiebreak was tied at 4 before Bonzi won the final three points to notch the victory.
Musetti had a 37-31 edge in winners and 11-10 in aces. He also had fewer unforced errors, committing 14 to Bonzi’s 21.
Rinderknech smashed 13 aces, saved 8 of 9 break points and converted all four of his own break points. He had 36 winners and overcame six double faults.
Ruud had more unforced errors (34) than winners (29) and was hurt by converting just one of nine break points.
Rinderknech was fresher in the final set when he had 13 winners to Ruud’s six to complete the victory in two hours, 40 minutes.
Top-seeded Jannik Sinner of Italy needed just 59 minutes and 59 seconds to record a 6-1, 6-1 victory over qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan of Colombia.
Sinner, the defending champion, won 22 of 23 first-serve points (95.7 percent) and had an easy time during his first match of the tournament.
“Matches are always more different than practice sessions, so I didn’t know exactly what to expect,” Sinner said. “But I’m very happy. It’s not easy to play here, the ball is flying. You have to serve very precisely, but also with good pace if you want to go far in the tournament.”
Sinner seeks to become the first repeat men’s winner of the event since legendary Roger Federer (2014-15).
Sinner moves on to face 30th-seeded Gabriel Diallo of Canada. Diallo was a 7-5, 6-4 winner over Sebastian Baez of Argentina.
No. 7 seed Holger Rune was pushed before taking a 7-5, 7-6 (5) win over Roman Safiullin of Russia.
“I believe I can play some great tennis, so if I keep working it’s going to happen,” Rune said.
No. 13 seed Tommy Paul sailed to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over Spain’s Pedro Martinez while qualifier Adrian Mannarino of France authored a 6-3, 6-3 upset of No. 19 Tomas Machac of the Czech Republic.
No. 20 Ugo Humbert registered a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Chak Lam Coleman Wong of Hong Kong, while No. 23 Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada was a 6-2, 7-6 (3) winner over Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina.
No. 25 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece beat Italy’s Fabian Marozsan 7-6 (3), 6-2 and 28th-seeded Alex Michelsen rallied for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win over Corentin Moutet of France.
–Field Level Media
