Novak Djokovic suffered from punishing heat and humidity on Saturday but made a match of it before falling 2-6, 6-4, 6-4 to Thiago Tirante in what could be the Serb’s last appearance at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters.
uncertain
what → suffer → Masters
The second-round battle lasted for more than two and a half hours, and it proved too much for the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who was playing his first match since he lost to Jannik Sinner in the Wimbledon semifinals more than a month ago.
asserted
he → last → semifinals
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4Bangladesh → make → Australia
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Top-seeded Alexander Zverev, the French Open champion who fell to Sinner in the Wimbledon final, was more fortunate, squeezing out an opening 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Cameron Norrie in a match that took two hours and 45 minutes and ended at 2:15am.
asserted
that → miss → 2:15am
Britain’s Norrie has now lost all eight of his matches against the German, winner of the Cincinnati title five years ago, who is hoping a return to Ohio will help him shake off an abrupt exit in Canada last week.
asserted
him → lose → Canada
Norrie had wrapped up the opening set before Zverev began to find his footing to level the match.
asserted
Zverev → wrap → match
Norrie saved six break points in a 12-minute game to begin the deciding set but was broken twice as Zverev advanced.
asserted
Zverev → save → set
“I needed to get a match rhythm,” Zverev said.
asserted
Zverev → need → rhythm
“The first set was not great, but the other two were at a high level, and I’m happy about that.”
asserted
I → ’m → that
Depleted Djokovic
Djokovic, who claimed the last of his three Cincinnati titles in 2023, took the opening set against Argentina’s Tirante with little fuss.
asserted
who → deplete → fuss
But the sweltering afternoon temperatures took a toll.
asserted
temperatures → take → toll
“It was a combination of the heat and humidity, all those things,” he said.
asserted
he → say → heat
“Everything involved makes it worse.”
asserted
it → involve → ?
Djokovic won a brutal 18-minute third game of the second, saving four break points over nine deuces.
asserted
Djokovic → win → deuces
But he was bent over in distress between several points and even dropped to his hands and knees after one particularly gruelling exchange.
asserted
he → bend → exchange
Djokovic took a medical timeout after that game, with the physio and then a doctor coming on court to assist with assessments and ice towels.
asserted
physio → take → assessments
After Tirante took the second set, both players cooled off in the locker room.
asserted
players → take → room
Slightly revived, Djokovic set the pace again in the deciding set.
asserted
Djokovic → revive → set
But it all went wrong in the ninth game, when Djokovic saved three break points before getting it wrong on a drop shot to bring up a fourth break chance that his opponent converted.
asserted
opponent → go → that
Tirante clinched the biggest win of his career in the next game as Djokovic again failed to land a drop shot on match point.
asserted
Djokovic → clinch → point
The Serb, who must now try to regroup before the US Open starts on August 30, admitted he might have played his last match in Cincy.
uncertain
he → try → Cincy
“It looks like I won’t be back, unfortunately, to play here,” he said.
asserted
he → look → ?
Tirante called the win the best of his career.
“I managed the nerves of playing a legend like Novak.
asserted
I → call → Novak
‘Focused’ Eala advances
asserted
Eala → advance → ?
In the WTA draw, Philippines sensation Alexandra Eala advanced to the third round 6-1, 3-0 as injured Elena-Gabriela Ruse retired from their match during a weather delay.
asserted
Ruse → advance → delay
The Romanian had received treatment on her right ankle just before play was halted by a thunderstorm, Ruse pulling the plug during the delay.
asserted
Ruse → receive → delay
Eala, the emerging WTA star who captured her first WTA title in Washington, DC, this month, will next play ninth-seeded American Amanda Anisimova, who beat Turk Zeynep Sonmez 6-2, 6-3.
asserted
who → emerge → Sonmez
“I was playing well and feeling really focused,” Eala said.
asserted
Eala → play → ?
“I tried to stay in the zone.”
asserted
I → try → zone
“A retirement is not the way you want to end a match,” she added.
asserted
she → want → match
Roland Garros finalist Maja Chwalinska advanced 6-2, 6-2 over Spain’s Cristina Bucsa.
asserted
Chwalinska → advance → Bucsa
Wimbledon winner Linda Noskova followed suit with her 6-3, 6-3 defeat of Britain’s Katie Boulter.
asserted
Noskova → follow → Boulter
There was heartbreak for Payton Stearns, who grew up just blocks from the tennis centre.
asserted
who → be → centre
She lost 7-6 (9/7), 1-6, 7-5 to Dane Clara Tauson, who played through back pain but rallied from 4-1 down in the final set to win.
asserted
who → lose → set
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