Related items

• Osaka one of four former champions handed US Open wildcards

  Two-time champion Naomi Osaka and fellow former winners Stan Wawrinka, Dominic Thiem and Bianca Andreescu were given wildcards for the upcoming US Open. 

  Osaka, who lost in the final round of qualifying for the Cincinnati Open, won the first of her four grand slam titles at Flushing Meadows in 2018, winning again two years later. 

  The former world number one returned to the tour this season after giving birth last year, but has struggled to find the form that led her to climb to the top of the rankings. 

  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. 

  She will be joined in the women's singles by Canada's Andreescu, who was crowned the US Open champion after her win over Serena Williams in 2019. 

  The 24-year-old returned to action this year after missing nine months due to a back injury and reached the French Open third round in her first event back.

  Meanwhile, Thiem headlines the wildcards in the men's singles in what will be the final grand slam of his career after confirming he will retire at the end of the season. 

  The Austrian won the US Open in 2020 in an epic five-match thriller against Alexander Zverev, but has failed to his best form after sustaining a wrist injury three years ago. 

  Also returning thanks to a wildcard is Wawrinka, eight years on from when he claimed the title in New York against Novak Djokovic at Flushing Meadows. 

  The 39-year-old's triumph in the United States was the latest of his three career grand slams, having previously prevailed at the Australian Open and French Open. 

• Lehecka stuns Medvedev to reach last 16 of Cincinnati Open

  Daniil Medvedev suffered consecutive opening game losses as he was dumped out of the Cincinnati Open by Jiri Lehecka in straight sets. 

  Medvedev, who was beaten by Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in Montreal last week, endured another early exit, losing 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 in just under two hours against the Czech.

  “It’s amazing to be back, to be honest. To get a win against such a talented player as Daniil surely is, is just such a bonus for me," Lehecka said on being back in his first tournament in three months after injury.

  Lehecka squandered four game points in the opener, with Medvedev also missing an opportunity for an early break, but the Czech was able to hold his opening serve. 

  The pair traded blows for the remainder, but the world number five struggled in the tiebreak, losing three games in a row to hand Lehecka the advantage. 

  And the decisive moment came in the seventh game of the second, as Lehecka broke Medvedev's serve, edging closer to a memorable triumph. 

  The Czech missed four match points in the final two games, but was not to be denied a fifth time, ending the encounter with a fierce serve to set up a meeting with Frances Tiafoe in the next round. 

  Data Debrief: Lehecka continues winning return in Cincinnati

  Since 1990, Lehecka is now the fourth player ranked outside the ATP's top 30 to claim top five wins at three ATP Masters 1000 events in a season after Gaston Gaudio (2001), Hicham Arazi (2001) and Tommy Paul (2022). 

  Excluding the ATP Tour Finals, Medvedev has been defeated in three consecutive ATP matches on hard court for the first time since October in 2017.

• 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.