Sabalenka Saves Six Match Points to Edge Gibson at Cincinnati Open

World No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka survived a tense battle, needing six match points to overcome Talia Gibson and advance to the third round of the Cincinnati Masters, joining recent Grand Slam champions Elena Rybakina and Mirra Andreeva.

Australia's Gibson saved five match points in the 12th game of the second set before Sabalenka clinched the win in a 7-2 tie-break. The match lasted just under two hours on the windy Grandstand court in Ohio, USA, with a final score of 6-2, 7-6 (7/2).

"I'm very tired. The weather was crazy," Sabalenka said after the match. "Talia played really well and was more aggressive in the second set. She put more pressure on my serve. I'm glad I stayed calm and got the win in two sets."

Sabalenka won Cincinnati in 2024 and hopes to go deep to build momentum for the US Open, where she is seeking her first Grand Slam title of the year. The Belarusian has three titles in 2026 but none since Miami in March.

She advances alongside Australian Open champion Rybakina and Roland Garros champion Andreeva, both of whom showed convincing form.

American fourth seed Coco Gauff had to work harder, coming from behind to beat world No. 43 Liudmila Samsonova of Russia 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. Meanwhile, compatriot Ben Shelton—fresh off a rise to world No. 6 after winning the Montreal Masters last week—was eliminated in the second round by Portugal's Jaime Faria (ranked 79th).

World No. 2 Rybakina, who finished runner-up in Toronto after a final against Iga Swiatek and is closing the gap on Sabalenka in the rankings, defeated Taylor Townsend 6-3, 6-4. Andreeva crushed Oleksandra Oliynykova 6-1, 6-0 in just two sets, breaking her opponent five times and saving all seven break points she faced.

Rybakina said she focused on recovering from the grueling Toronto tournament and was pleased with a smooth start in Cincinnati. "Today I was happy with my serve. It helped me a lot. Last week in Toronto was tough with so many three-set matches," she said.

Seventh seed Swiatek, the defending champion, who just claimed her first title of the season in Toronto, beat Colombia's Emiliana Arango 6-3, 6-0.

Gauff and Shelton played in the evening session when strong winds turned into a brief rain shower, halting both matches for nearly 30 minutes. Gauff secured the win with an impressive surge, taking the last five games in a row.

"A Very Emotional Moment"

Shelton also fell victim to a comeback from Faria, who rallied from 1-4 down in the second set to claim his first win over a top-10 opponent, 6-4, 6-4, on the ATP side.

"Moments like these, you have to enjoy them," Faria said. "This is a very emotional moment for me and my team, to do it in front of a great crowd and against a home favorite at night in a beautiful venue, that makes it even more special."

Canada's men's second seed, Felix Auger-Aliassime, is looking to kick off his US Open preparation after withdrawing from his home Masters due to a back injury. The player, competing for the first time since a five-set loss to Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon quarterfinals, beat Stefanos Tsitsipas—the 2022 Cincinnati runner-up—6-3, 7-5.

Auger-Aliassime looked fully recovered as he dominated Tsitsipas in 88 minutes, breaking the world No. 49 three times in the second set and closing the match with his seventh ace. He attributed losing a late break in the second set to the wind. "It was a tough finish, but luckily I broke back. I'm happy to be back with a win like this."

Russia's fourth seed Daniil Medvedev opened his campaign with a 6-4, 7-5 win over Argentina's Marco Trungelliti. American sixth seed Taylor Fritz smashed his racket in frustration just five minutes into his match against compatriot Alex Michelsen, but quickly regained his composure in swirling conditions to win 6-3, 6-4.