Rybakina slogs through double rain delays in Cincinnati win

In a grueling match at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters on Monday, Elena Rybakina faced two-hour on-court time plus two one-hour rain delays to defeat Magdalena Frech 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) and advance to the fourth round. The second-seeded Kazakh struggled to close out the contest, which lasted much of the afternoon. Rybakina admitted she found it difficult to finish the match after nine games in the first set and again in the seventh game of the second.

Upon returning to court for the second time, she was unable to wrap up the match on three match points against a serving Frech. She acknowledged the challenging conditions, saying, "It was a crazy day, to be honest, coming out every time into clouds and humidity. I felt that I was on top of the ball in the tie-break, but it was a difficult one.

I had the opportunities on the three match points, but when you are tired, it's difficult to keep concentration."

Former world number one Iga Swiatek also navigated the weather to reach the fourth round, defeating Maria Sakkari 6-1, 6-1 after losing the first set. Swiatek, a six-time Grand Slam champion, needed only two hours to complete her turnaround, saving seven of eight break points while breaking her opponent five times. She cited a lack of precision as the reason for her struggles in the earlier set.

Swiatek will next face Diane Parry, while in the men's draw, Thiago Tirante continued his impressive run by defeating Novak Djokovic, advancing past Martin Landaluce to reach the third Masters round of 16 in his career.