Zverev, Rublev reach Cincinnati QFs

Alexander Zverev became the 10th player in history to reach 30 ATP Masters 1000 quarter-finals on Friday at the Cincinnati Open, where he moved past Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta 7-5, 7-6(6).

The third-seeded German recovered from squandering break advantages in both sets to eventually earn his 51st win of the season. Zverev lifted his sixth ATP Masters 1000 title in Rome earlier this year and will aim to add to that tally in Ohio, where he next meets Ben Shelton or Fabian Marozsan.

Zverev, who struck 26 winners in his two-hour, five-minute win against Carreno Busta, has fond memories in Cincinnati. The 27-year-old captured the trophy in 2021 and reached the semi-finals last season.

A deep run at the hard-court event will also boost Zverev’s hopes of qualifying for the Nitto ATP Finals. A two-time champion at the year-end event, Zverev is third in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

In other action, Andrey Rublev made it two wins in two weeks against Brandon Nakashima. He moved past the 2022 Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF champion 7-6(5), 6-1.

Rublev defeated Nakashima en route to his second ATP Masters 1000 final of the season in Montreal last week. After fending off both break points he faced in the first set against Nakashima on Friday, the No. 6 player in the PIF ATP Rankings raced clear in the second set. He hit 12 winners and committed just two unforced errors in the set to advance after 82 minutes.

Rublev will next play World No. 1 Jannik Sinner in the quarter-finals. Rublev, who is 34-16 on the year, overcame Sinner in Montreal.

Rublev is up one spot to sixth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin following his win and is aiming to make his fifth consecutive appearance at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Felix Auger-Aliassime earned a convincing 6-3, 6-1 victory against seventh seed Casper Ruud. The Canadian, who struck 26 winners to Ruud’s three, according to Infosys ATP Stats, will return to court Friday evening not before 7 p.m. to face Jack Draper.

Auger-Aliassime now leads Ruud 4-3 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series. The 24-year-old trailed Ruud 1-3 as recently as April, but Felix has scored wins against the Norwegian in Madrid, at the Paris Olympics and in Cincinnati to pull ahead.

By advancing to the Round of 16, Auger-Aliassime collected his 50th match win at ATP Masters 1000 level. He is the third player born in 2000 or later to reach that milestone, behind Jannik Sinner (69) and Carlos Alcaraz (59).