Grigor Dimitrov was once again Roberto Bautista's black beast, this time in Cincinnati, the only Masters 1,000 who has managed to win so far (in 2017) the 30-year-old Bulgarian and 20th in the world. It is clear that he has taken the measure to the Castellón, who chains, with that of this Tuesday (6-3 and 6-4 at 1:21), four losses in a row against the ATP Finals champion from four years ago. Dimitrov He will face Kazakh Bublik in the second round, who beat the American Giron (3-6, 6-3 and 7-6 (5)).
Roberto could not find a way to counter Grigor's magnificent performance with his serve and only managed to force three break opportunities, of which he could only take advantage of one, in the second set after conceding a break in the first game. In addition, his rival played with triple aggression (30-10 in winning shots) and he minimized unforced errors (20), the slit where victories were slipping away this year.
In fact, this is the fifth game that he has won since March in a season in which the first exchangers have been fired in six tournaments. Bautista did not handle the conditions of the match well, on a muggy day, with the threat of a rain that appeared late in the second round and forced a break of more than an hour. He improved as the minutes passed, but his intention was not enough and he will soon head to New York, to prepare for the US Open.
Davidovich loses his hot streak against Hurkacz
Alejandro Davidovich dominated Hubert Hurkacz head-to-head with two prestigious victories, at the 2020 US Open and at the Montpellier ATP 250 this year., but this time, at the 1,000 Masters in Cincinnati, the 24-year-old Pole and world number 12, champion last year in Miami, was much superior and won by 6-1 and 6-7 (3) and 6-1 at 2:05. He will face in the second round an excited Andy Murray, who got off the Frenchman Richard Gasquet late on Monday (double 6-4).
The heat (26º) and, above all, the very high humidity (87%) made a dent in the resistance of a Davidovich who could not find a way to overwhelm Hurkacz, who gave him four break point chances and saved three. On the contrary, the Malaga player had to face ten and lost five. The most optimistic and powerful version of Alex was only seen in the second half of the second set, when he was able to recover from a 4-2 deficit and equalize to extend the match later in the tiebreaker. The third set also started badly, but this time, with some physical discomfort, he could not come back.
A long break hurts Alcaraz
Carlos Alcaraz was the least benefited by the break of several hours suffered by his match against Lorenzo Sonego, because the 18-year-old from Murcia had started pitching, with a break for a hopeful 2-1 in the first set and after the duel, he conceded a devastating 9-3 partial that put the task very uphill. The first heat escaped him and in the second he had to row a lot to try to overcome a 4-2 against. He had it very close, because he had a sleeve ball in the tiebreaker (6-5), but he escaped and the victory went to the 26-year-old Italian and 27th in the world by 6-3 and 7-6 (6).
Nonetheless, Alcaraz's role in Cincinnati has been creditable, with two wins in the qualifier and playing Sonego head-to-head in the first round of the main draw. In fact, he may start the US Open in the best position of his career, 53rd, depending on other results of the tournament. Perhaps he was a little anxious against an opponent with a very good hand near the net, varied resources, such as the cut backhand, and surprising mobility for his height (1.91) when taking advantage of his long stride. The Turinese, champion this year in Cagliari, was also accompanied by luck against an Alcaraz that at times connected with the public due to its spectacular nature.
Ramos touches the feat against Berrettini
Albert Ramos was on Tuesday about to achieve the eighth victory of his career against a top-10 after beating Matteo Berrettini, eighth in the ranking, in a beautiful first set and having options to break his serve twice in the second. But the 25-year-old Italian, one of the best players of 2021, with 33 wins, two titles, the Roland Garros quarter-finals and the final at Wimbledon, took the victory by a tight 6-7 (5), 6-3 and 7-5 in 2:20. They will face Khachanov or Auger-Aliassime in the second round.
Ramos' first set was flawless in terms of serve. Before a gunboat like Berrettini, the Catalan lost only six points with his services, with a 79% success rate in firsts. That effectiveness decreased with the passing of the minutes, although it remained until 2-2 of the second quarter. Then Albert had two chances to go 3-2 and serve, and then he conceded the first break of the game. He still had the option to make up ground with a 0-40 at 5-3. He did not make it come true and faced the third set with some fatigue. The Roman refined with the cut backhand and the left, missed less and undermined the confidence of Ramos at the start in a third game hard to the rest. When the match seemed headed for another tie-break, Matteo broke and did not forgive with his 25th ace. Berrettini, who had not played since his success at Wimbledon, continues on fire: have won 15 of their last 17 games.
Paire kicks out Shapovalov
The big surprise of the day took place in the last match of the day in the men's team, in which Frenchman Benoit Paire managed to get rid of Canadian Denis Shapovalov, sixth seed for the title, 6-3, 4-6 and 7-5 in two hours and 14 minutes of play. Paire was very solid on serve (11 direct aces and 73% of points won with his first service), in addition to taking advantage of 5 of the 11 break balls that Shapovalov gave him. The French will now be measured in the round of 16 of the tournament against the winner of the match between Jannik Sinner and John Isner.
Results, table and schedules.