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World No. 1s Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka both began their title defences at the Cincinnati Open with strong wins on Saturday, advancing to the third round.
Both players were competing for the first time since their performances at Wimbledon.
Jannik Sinner, the reigning Wimbledon men’s champion, had a dominant performance, defeating Colombian qualifier Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1.
The victory, which lasted just 59 minutes, marked the fastest win of Sinner’s ATP career and extended his hard-court winning streak to 22 matches.
“For a first match, it could not have gone better,” Sinner said of his return to the court.
On the women’s side, Aryna Sabalenka defeated 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1.
Sabalenka, who reached the semi-finals at Wimbledon, fought hard for a service break to win the first set.
She then battled through the second set, saving five break points to secure the win. “She pushed me to the limit,” Sabalenka said of her tough opponent. She will now face Britain’s Emma Raducanu in the next round.
In other notable results, fourth-seeded Taylor Fritz and seventh-seeded Holger Rune also advanced in the men’s draw.
However, eighth-seeded Lorenzo Musetti and eleventh-seeded Casper Ruud were both knocked out by French opponents.
On the women’s side, reigning Wimbledon champion Iga Swiatek also moved on with a decisive 6-1, 6-4 victory.
