Tommy Paul pulled off a wild 4-6, 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 upset against top seed Alexander Zverev on Wednesday, booting him from the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters. This wasn’t some routine loss either; Paul had to save a match point just to stay in the fight.
Paul’s Grind and Zverev’s Collapse
Seriously, this match had it all. It was interrupted for a full 90 minutes in the second set because of rain, and then had two more five-minute pauses to dry the court. Talk about momentum killers! The biggest moment for Zverev came at 6-5 in the second-set tiebreaker, where he had a chance to close it out, but then he just stuffed a volley into the net. Brutal. Zverev even got an edge in the deciding set with a break for 4-2, but Paul immediately broke back, then broke again for a 5-4 lead. He served out the victory with total confidence, marking his third win over Zverev in their last four meetings. Paul himself admitted, “I’m not sure how I did it. I put some returns in, he gave me some looks at second serves and he threw in a few doubles (faults). That always helps a ton. I went after the ball a bit more, I was having fun out there. I hope I can keep building on this and peak at the US Open.” You gotta love that attitude.
Long Grinds and Shocking Exits Elsewhere
Paul’s next challenge is Roland Garros runner-up Flavio Cobolli, who had his own epic turnaround against the red-hot Spaniard Rafael Jodar, winning 4-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-3 in two and a half hours. Cobolli’s clearly a fighter, winning all three of his Cincinnati matches in three sets. He reached his second Masters-level quarter-final of the season, stopping 19-year-old Jodar from hitting his eighth quarter-final in nine events. Cobolli said he told himself to “believe, try on every point” at the end of the second set, and that he “deserved to win as I was fresher than him.” Elsewhere in the men’s draw, Thiago Tirante, who already shocked Novak Djokovic in the second round, kept his surprise run going by defeating Jakub Mensik 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 for his first Masters quarter-final. Frenchman Arthur Fils also cruised past fifth seed Alex de Minaur with a smooth 6-3, 6-4 victory.
On the women’s side, defending champion Iga Swiatek needed four match points to get past Diane Parry 6-3, 6-3. She was actually broken while serving for the victory leading a set and 5-2, which is wild, but eventually closed it out. This sets up a re-run of last week’s Toronto final against Elena Rybakina, who beat Diana Shnaider 6-4, 6-4. Two other current Grand Slam champions got knocked out: Marta Kostyuk came back from a set down to beat French Open winner Mirra Andreeva 4-6, 6-0, 6-2, and Wimbledon champion Linda Noskova fell to Amanda Anisimov.
The Cincinnati Masters is heating up, and with top seeds dropping like flies, who knows what’s coming next! Paul’s got a tough test against Cobolli, and Swiatek’s rematch with Rybakina is going to be appointment viewing.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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