Top Seeds Abalenka, Zverev Stunned In Cincinnati 4th Round

Top Seeds Abalenka, Zverev Stunned In Cincinnati 4th Round

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.

Former champion Sabalenka led by a break in the opening set and was up 5-1 in the tiebreaker before Bejlek roared back to pocket the set in 65 minutes.

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.

“I lost my words — it feels incredible,” Bejlek said after her first win over a top-10 player.

“I was playing what I was feeling and not really thinking. I was trying not to be nervous and just play. I believed in myself no matter what.”

Bejlek, who won the Abu Dhabi hard court title in February as a qualifier, booked a quarter-final clash with American Madison Keys.

It was yet another setback for Sabalenka as the start of the US Open looms on August 30.

The four-time Grand Slam champion was ousted in the fourth round of the Toronto Masters last week, having lost in the same round at Wimbledon and in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros.

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.