German third seed Alexander Zverev comfortably defeated American wildcard Nishesh Basavareddy 6-3 6-3 in the second round of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday. The 2021 champion did not face a single break point during the match and fired 12 aces, silencing a partisan home crowd on the Grandstand court. Zverev will face American Brandon Nakashima in the third round.
Meanwhile, recent Canadian Open champion Ben Shelton advanced after Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli retired injured. Shelton was leading by a set and a break when Ugo Carabelli halted play, clutching his knee in the fourth game of the second set. The Argentine attempted to continue after a medical timeout but was ultimately forced to retire. Shelton will next face Spain’s Roberto Bautista Agut, who earlier beat Britain’s Cam Norrie 6-4 6-3.
Second seed Carlos Alcaraz overcame a second-set wobble to defeat Bosnia’s Damir Dzumhur 6-1 2-6 6-3. The Spaniard, runner-up in his last six tournaments, made an uncharacteristic number of unforced errors in the second set but recovered to close out the match with a confident forehand winner. Alcaraz next faces Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic.
In the women’s draw, defending champion and second seed Coco Gauff overcame eight double faults in the first set to defeat China’s Wang Xinyu 6-3 6-2. The American converted all five break points and won 20 of her final 23 service points. She will meet Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska in the third round.
Gauff’s fellow American and former doubles partner Jessica Pegula, the fourth seed, also progressed with a 6-4 6-3 win over Australian Kimberly Birrell. It was a mostly routine day at the U.S. Open warm-up event, with few surprises.
One notable upset came as Reilly Opelka delighted the home crowd with a 7-6(6) 6-4 win over Australian sixth seed Alex de Minaur. In another shock result, Australian Adam Walton knocked out 2019 champion Daniil Medvedev 6-7(0) 6-4 6-1.