Sinner, Fritz Move Forward in Cincinnati Despite Fire Alarm and Power Outage Disruptions

Cincinnati – World No. 1 Jannik Sinner overcame both on-court pressure and unusual interruptions to defeat Gabriel Diallo 6-2, 7-6(6) and reach the fourth round of the Cincinnati Open.

During the second game of the second set, a fire alarm began sounding in the 1899 Club grandstand. With lights flashing and the alarm blaring, play paused briefly before Sinner and Diallo agreed to continue. They played four points under the noise until the alarm stopped. Sinner later saved a set point in the tiebreak with a sharp forehand return before sealing the match.

Sinner, now on a 22-match hard-court winning streak since last October’s Beijing final loss to Carlos Alcaraz, will next face either Tommy Paul or Adrian Mannarino. Playing his first tournament since winning Wimbledon, Sinner holds a 27-3 record this season and has already qualified for the ATP Finals in November, where he will defend his title. He is just 10 wins shy of 300 career victories.

The start of Sinner’s match was delayed by Taylor Fritz’s earlier win over Lorenzo Sonego, which was interrupted by a 75-minute power outage. Fritz, seeded in the top four in Cincinnati for the first time since Andy Roddick in 2007, won 7-6(4), 7-5 without facing a break point. After a tight opening set that lasted 67 minutes, play was halted due to the outage. When play resumed, the second set stayed on serve until 5-5, when Sonego faltered on his first serve, giving Fritz the decisive break. The American then served out the match to love, earning his 38th tour-level win of the year.

Fritz, who is chasing his second career Masters 1000 title after winning Indian Wells in 2022, will next face either Joao Fonseca of Brazil or Terence Atmane of France.

With inputs from IANS