Top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Alexander Zverev crashed out of the Cincinnati Masters in a matter of hours on a rainy Wednesday of fourth-round action. American Tommy Paul saved a match point on the way to a 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 upset of Germany’s Zverev. But the biggest shock came on the women’s side where Czech Sara Bejlek, ranked 35th, stunned world number one Sabalenka 7-6 (9/7), 6-4 in a gritty match that finished up shortly after the clock ticked past midnight into Thursday morning.
“I lost my words — it feels incredible,” Bejlek said after her first win over a top-10 player.
“I put some returns in, he gave me some looks at second serves and he threw in a few doubles (faults). That always helps a ton. Bejlek broke the Belarusian three times in the second set, rallying from 4-1 down and securing the win with a love game capped by an ace. Zverev’s match was interrupted by rain for 90 minutes in the seventh game of the second set and had two more five-minute pauses as drops were dried from the court. The German again gained an edge in the deciding set with a break for 4-2, but Paul broke back in the next game and again for a 5-4 lead on the way to his third win over Zverev in their last four meetings. Australian Alex de Minaur was no match for Frenchman Arthur Fils, who cruised to a 6-3, 6-4 victory over the fifth seed.
“I’m not sure how I did it,” Paul said. “I played well the whole match, going for my shots, coming forward and not letting her counter-punch,” Gauff said. “I’m happy with how I played.”
