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• Swiatek survives on hardcourt return in first game since Paris Olympics

  Iga Swiatek survived in her return to hard courts at the Cincinnati Open, outlasting Varvara Gracheva in three sets to advance to the third round. 

  Swiatek, who was playing in her first match since her bronze medal at the Olympics, was taken to a third-set decider, but emerged as a 6-0 6-7 (8-10) 6-2 victor in Ohio.

  “For sure, the transition is probably the hardest, from the slowest surface to the fastest surface,” Swiatek said.

  “But that’s why I’m still happy with my performance, and looking forward to another match to kind of still do the grinding and implement what I was working on, but not really focusing on the results.”

  The world number one looked set for a comfortable passage to the next round of the competition after winning the first set 6-0, serving three of her seven aces in the opener.

  But her French opponent responded, matching Swiatek stride for stride in the second before prevailing in a tie-break to take the encounter the distance. 

  However, Swiatek would once again show her dominance, winning the final four games in a row to set up an encounter with Marta Kostyuk, who defeated Lulu Sun in straight sets. 

  Data Debrief: Swiatek surpasses yearly triumphs

  Despite a third set, Swiatek has claimed 11.2% (27/242) of total sets played by a score of 6-0 in completed WTA 1000 matches - the highest rate of any player (min. 20 sets) since the format's introduction in 2009.

  The Pole now has 28 WTA-1000 match wins in 2024, surpassing her own career-high of 27 (2023). Only Serena Williams (36, 2013) has now recorded more WTA-1000 wins in a season, since the format’s introduction in 2009.

• Sinner passes Michelsen test in Cincinnati opener

  Jannik Sinner began his Cincinnati Open campaign with a hard-fought 6-4 7-5 win over Alex Michelsen, bouncing back from his injury scare at the Canadian Open last week.

  Sinner fell to a quarter-final defeat to Andrey Rublev in Montreal last time out, appearing to struggle with a hip issue throughout that loss after missing the Paris Olympics due to a bout of tonsillitis. 

  However, the Italian played down any concerns over his fitness ahead of his last-32 match in Cincinnati, where he was pushed all the way by Michelsen but held firm to advance.

  Sinner had to save eight break points in one hour and 52 minutes on court, committing as many unforced errors (19) as his American opponent.

  However, breaks in the very first game of the opener and the penultimate game of the second set proved decisive for the Australian Open winner, who will now face either Sebastian Baez or Jordan Thompson for a quarter-final place.

  Meanwhile, Stefanos Tsitsipas bounced back from his first-round Canadian Open exit at the hands of Kei Nishikori, fighting from a set and a break down to beat Jan-Lennard Struff 4-6 6-4 6-3.

  Speaking after his win, Tsitsipas – who will face Jack Draper or Jaume Munar next – said: "I was down a break, and I managed to keep on fighting and get the break back. 

  "Suddenly I felt like I was starting to figure out what really worked behind his serve. He made a few double faults, and I took that chance, got myself in the lead, and I think once I started reminding myself of my best qualities as a player, these things really started working."

  Data Debrief: Sinner looking to stay perfect

  Sinner's victory improved his record on hard courts to 25-2 for the season, and a first quarter-final berth at Cincinnati is now within his sights.

  He has reached at least the last eight at all five ATP 1000 Masters tournaments he has played this year, though his only such title came in Miami in March.

• Osaka left puzzled by recent form after Cincinnati Open exit

  Naomi Osaka said she still does not feel like herself eight months into her comeback season following her latest defeat at the Cincinnati Open. 

  Osaka was beaten in three sets by Ashlyn Krueger in the second round of qualifying for the event ahead of the final grand slam of the year at the US Open. 

  The former world number one also lost in her first match of the Paris Olympics to Angelique Kerber and was beaten in the last 32 of the Canadian Open last week. 

  Osaka was left puzzled by her lack of accuracy and power in her most recent loss, explaining her current form is having an affect on her mentally. 

  "My biggest issue currently isn't losses though, my biggest issue is that I don't feel like I'm in my body," Osaka wrote on Instagram on Tuesday.

  "It's a strange feeling, missing balls I shouldn't miss, hitting balls softer than I remember I used to.

  "I try to tell myself, 'It's fine you're doing great. Just get through this one and keep pushing', mentally it's really draining through.

  "Internally, I hear myself screaming, 'What the hell is happening?!?!'"

  Osaka returned to action in January after a 15-month break during which she gave birth to her daughter. 

  The Japanese is now ranked 90th in the WTA rankings, with her best finishes coming in Doha and 's-Hertogenbosch where she reached the quarter-finals in both. 

  "I've played a handful of matches this year that I felt like I was myself and I know this moment is probably just a small phase from all the new transitions (clay, grass, clay, hard), however the only feeling I could liken how I feel right now to is being post-partum," Osaka said.

  "That scares me because I've been playing tennis since I was three, the racket should feel like an extension of my hand."

  Osaka's next event will be at Flushing Meadows, a stadium where she triumphed in 2018 and 2020, but added she did not understand why everything about her game felt brand new again. 

  "This should be as simple as breathing to me, but it's not," she added. "I genuinely did not give myself grace for that fact until just now."