Elena Rybakina Advances to Face Madison Keys at Cincinnati Open

MASON, OH – The Cincinnati Open continued on August 11 with the Round of 32 matches, despite facing mid-game delays from a power outage. World No. 1 Jannik Sinner fought through a challenging match to emerge victorious against Gabriel Diallo, with the final score of 6-2, 7-6 (8-6).

After an hour-long interruption, action resumed with multiple matches scheduled for the day. On August 12, Italian WTA No. 9 Jasmine Paolini will face American WTA No. 35 Ashlyn Krueger as the second match on the Grandstand Court. Paolini advanced after defeating Maria Sakkari, while Krueger is coming off a win over Anastasija Sevastova.

In another exciting matchup, WTA No. 2 Coco Gauff is set to compete against WTA No. 31 Dayana Yastremska after a straight-sets victory over Xinyu Wang. That match is part of a full evening slate that includes WTA No. 4 Jessica Pegula versus Poland’s Magda Linette and ATP No. 6 Ben Shelton against Roberto Bautista Agut.

On the night of August 11, WTA No. 10 Elena Rybakina triumphed over WTA No. 22 Elise Mertens, finishing the match 4-6, 6-3, 7-5 shortly after midnight, adding an interesting layer to her upcoming clash with Keys. Rybakina, who previously struggled with her serve, acknowledged the need for improvement after scoring 10 double faults against Mertens.

Rybakina expressed her satisfaction with her performance in the late match. “I struggled a lot in the first set. I’m happy that I managed to find my game in the end. Thank you so much guys for staying so late,” she said.

Madison Keys, the current Australian Open champion, enters their matchup with a strong historical advantage, having won three of their previous five encounters. She secured her place in the Round of 16 after a decisive victory over Aoi Ito, winning 6-4, 6-0.

Fans are eagerly anticipating the clash on August 12 as Rybakina looks to overcome her serving difficulties and continue her impressive run in Cincinnati.