Cincinnati Open 2024 Round 3 Recap

The quarter-final lineup in Cincinnati is set, and one notable absentee is Carlos Alcaraz, who won’t be involved over the weekend.

The Spaniard played a part in one of two second matches overrun from yesterday, leading Monfils by a set, but the Frenchman had a 3-1 lead in the tiebreak when play was suspended.

On resumption, the 37-year-old hit the ground running, levelling the match and then breaking early in the third, a lead he maintained through to the end.

Felix Auger-Aliassime also recorded an upset, defeating Casper Ruud in the other delayed match. However, both men came unstuck in the next round, with double duty proving too much, with Rune defeating Monfils and Draper foiling Felix.

It’s kind of really difficult to find some good stuff from this match. So I want to forget it, and try to move on to New York. I’ll go to New York and I’ll try to practise well, to get used to those courts. And I will forget this match, because I think it is impossible to get any good things about this match. Alcaraz on his upset against Monfils.

In the round of sixteen, Jannik Sinner benefitted from a walkover due to Jordan Thomspon suffering a rib injury. Of the matches played, all the seeded players went through, with Zverev, Rublev, Hurkacz, Shelton and Rune progressing into the last eight.

Drama of the round? Check out the match point between Draper and Auger-Aliassime: terrible umpiring and poor sportsmanship.

Cincinnati Open Round of 16 Results

Draper Delivers Another Three-Set Win

Jack Draper pulled off another gritty win on Friday, bagging a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win over Felix Auger-Aliassime. The 22-year-old left-hander, who looked physically destroyed after his opening match, secured his third consecutive three-set victory.

Draper has a heavy game, and he applied a lot of pressure on Auger-Aliassime’s serve. He played 33 fewer points on his own serve and only faced a single break point.

However, although Draper looked the better player, the match concluded in a controversial moment when Draper won on a disputed low volley, which was ruled good despite replays showing the ball had hit the bottom of his frame and bounced off the court before crossing the net.

While not wanting to single anyone out, every time there is a controversial call, it always seems to be Greg Allensworth in the chair. I’m not sure how he missed this. It was right under his nose, and it was so obvious from how the ball reacted that it hit the ground. Check it out below.

Draper should also have come clean, as he knew what happened. We know he’s done some modelling, but acting seems a step too far.

Tiafoe Ends Lehecka Comeback

Frances Tiafoe has played no shortage of late-night thrillers in his career, often on US soil. He delivered another on Friday, sneaking past Jiri Lehecka 6-4, 6-7(10), 7-6(5).

Tiafeo has been in a bit of a slump since his split with Wayne Ferreira (who now coaches Jack Draper), but the American has found some strength in recent weeks. He stayed clutch against the Czech to convert his sixth match point after a lengthy two hours and 52 minutes.

Big Foe had three match points in the second set tiebreak, only to see Lehecka steal it. He then held a 5-2 lead in the final set. However, Lehecka fought back, winning three consecutive games to force a deciding-set tie-break.

Tiafoe then found himself down a mini-break at 2/4 in the tie-break but rallied to secure the win to make only his fourth career Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Cincinnati Open 2024 Quarter Finals

Who you got making the semi finals?