Cincinnati Open Check-In: 10 Notes From Rounds 1-2

By Richard Osborn

1 | OLYMPIC HANGOVER:

The quick clay-to-hard-court flip from the Olympic Games to the North American summer season proved too taxing for some. Medalists Donna Vekic (silver/singles), Taylor Fritz (bronze/doubles) and Tommy Paul (bronze/doubles) all fell in the opening round of the singles draw in Cincinnati, and Lorenzo Musetti (bronze/singles) was ousted in Round 2.

2 | PAULA’S AGAIN ON THE RISE:

She’s been ranked as high as No. 2 in the world. She’s won marquee titles like Indian Wells. But a stress fracture in her back forced her to shut down her season after Wimbledon in 2023, and her doctors told her that it would be complicated to continue her tennis career. Despite the gloomy prognosis and falling outside the Top 100, the Spaniard is on the comeback trail. She arrived in Cincinnati on the heels of a WTA 500 title in Washington, D.C., her first tour-level crown in two years. She now says she’s targeting a return to the Top 10: “I always put these expectations,” said Badosa, who advanced to the third round with a 6-3, 6-2 besting of Anna Kalinskaya. “It’s part of me. I keep pushing myself, sometimes too much. That’s why I have my coach to balance that. But my goal is to be back where I was before. I feel I belong there. I will try my best to get there as soon as possible.”

3 | ‘NADALCARAZ’ WAS A LEARNING MOMENT:

The Spanish tandem of Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz was all the rage during the Paris Games. Though the pair would fall short of a medal, Alcaraz says he relished the opportunity to learn from his veteran teammate: “It was a great experience, talking with Rafa, getting to know each other much better off the court,” said Alcaraz, who is playing in his first hard-court event since the Miami Open in March. “It was something that I will never forget. I learned a lot talking to him. We played great, even if we’re not used to playing doubles very often. It was a little bit disappointing at the end because we thought we could do better but, in general, we were happy. I reached my dream. My dream came true playing doubles alongside Rafa.”

4 | ANDRE THE GIANT:

Speaking of iconic doubles partners, Tommy Paul joined forces with Hall of Famer Andre Agassi for the Community Day Legends Match that also featured John Isner and Andy Roddick. “Andre still has it in the groundies and the return,” said Paul. “He’s one of my favorite players to watch. For the most part, I like watching attacking players, people who come to the net a bunch, who I can kind of take things from. But you go back and look at any champion of his caliber in this sport and you can learn something. Whether it’s his returns or his footwork, on and off the baseline, it was the best of his time, for sure.”

5 | SINNER’S IN FINE FORM (WHICH IS BAD NEWS FOR HIS OPPONENTS):

He missed the Olympic Games with a case of tonsillitis, and didn’t look 100 percent in a 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 quarterfinal loss to Andrey Rublev in Montreal, often favoring his hip. But top seed and world No. 1 Jannik Sinner appears to be on his game at the Cincinnati Open, where he opened with a convincing 6-4, 7-5 second-round win over American Alex Michelsen. “Physically, for sure, I can get better, but I felt like I was moving much better,” he said after the one-hour, 51-minute victory. “The hip did really, really good, so I’m very happy about that.” The Italian, who is attempting to reach the quarterfinals here for the first time, leads the ATP Tour in hard-court wins this season with 25.

6 | JESSICA’S OLYMPIC EXPERIENCE:

Jessica Pegula says it was eye-opening to be side-by-side with her fellow Team USA colleagues in Paris, especially those competing in sports like track and field, swimming and gymnastics. “Being able to be surrounded by all the incredible athletes, you just have so much respect for what they do. Even though we really have a long year, I cannot imagine having to prep for once every four years and not being able to perform, or you get hurt or something goes wrong. Mentally, I think that’s so tough. To see it from a different point of view was really impressive, what they have to do, what they go through.”

7 | ‘AND NOW PITCHING FOR CINCINNATI, A 6-FOOT-5 FIREBALLER OUT OF WROCLAW…’:

He’s got some work to do when it comes to control, but 6-foot-5 Hubert Hurkacz would make one heck of a big-league hurler. The Pole threw out the first pitch prior to a Cincinnati Reds-St. Louis Cardinals baseball game at Great American Ball Park. “It was a really interesting experience,” said Hurkacz, a Cincinnati Open semifinalist last year. “I’ve seen a baseball game before, but it was a while ago. To actually stand on the field and see the big stands was a really fun experience. It’s something different. I threw it a bit high, but he managed to catch it. I can throw a ball, but those guys are at a completely different level.”

8 | UPSET ALERT:

Defending champ Coco Gauff and No. 4 seeds Daniil Medvedev and Elena Rybakina were among the early high-profile upset victims in Cincinnati. Gauff suffered a 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 defeat to Yulia Putintseva in the second round. Medvedev, the 2019 Cincinnati Open champion, was dismissed, 7-6(2), 6-4, by Jiri Lehecka, while the 2022 quarterfinalist Rybakina was upended by Leylah Fernandez, 3-6, 7-6(3), 6-4.

9 | ARYNA ON IGA:

Iga Swiatek vs. Aryna Sabalenka has become one of the tour’s most intriguing rivalries. The two have played 11 times now, often on big-stage occasions, with Swiatek holding an 8-3 advantage. Should the seedings hold up in the women’s draw, we might just be in for 12th meeting in the semis. “Mentally, she’s really strong and she moves really well, putting a lot of pressure back on you. When you go against her, you know that you have to compete at a high level,” says Sabalenka, a three-time Cincinnati Open semifinalist. “If you see an opportunity, you have to get it, otherwise she’s going to get the match. I love those battles. Those are the matches where you can get better as a player. Even if you lose, you can learn a lot. It can help you in the future.”

10 | BRANDON ON THE BOUNCE-BACK:

All Brandon Nakashima has done this year is jump from No. 134 in the world back into the Top 50, opening his 2024 Cincinnati Open campaign with impressive upsets of fellow Southern Californian Taylor Fritz and electric Frenchman Arthur Fils. Back in business after struggling with nagging knee injuries, the 23-year-old is again playing with the kind of confidence that led to him his maiden ATP title in his hometown of San Diego in 2022. “It’s a combination of a little bit of everything — my coaches, the team around me,” he said. “I think we’ve done a good job of progressing in the right direction the last couple of months, getting the ranking back up and kind of turning it around.”