Defending champions Sinner and Sabalenka reach Cincinnati Open quarter-finals, Rybakina ousts Keys

Defending champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka led the way into the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals on Wednesday with Carlos Alcaraz hot on their heels with a straight-sets victory of his own.

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Sinner shrugged off a mid-match weather delay lasting nearly three hours as he advanced 6-4, 7-6 (7/4) over Adrian Mannarino.

Sabalenka, taken to three sets in her previous match with Emma Raducanu, regrouped after surrendering a second-set service break to defeat Spain's Jessica Bouzas Maneiro 6-1, 7-5.

Alcaraz, the second seed who has reached the finals of his last six tournaments, hammered Italian lucky loser Luca Nardi 6-I, 6-4.

After sweeping the opening set in 28 minutes, Alcaraz hit a speed bump, dropping his serve to trail 2-4.

He promptly regained the break, then fought through a marathon ninth game that went to deuce eight times to take a 5-4 lead, Nardi coughing up a double-fault on break point.

Alcaraz double-faulted on his first match point before producing a volley winner to complete the job.

“This match was my best so far of the tournament,” Alcaraz said. “At the start | wanted to get better each day and I've done that.

“I'm proud of that and happy with how | felt the ball and how | moved,” added Alcaraz, who next faces ninth-seeded Russian Andrey Rublev.