Former Cincinnati contenders suffer contrasting first-round fates

Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece reacts after winning a point during his victory over France's Valentin Royer at the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Masters (Dylan Buell) A former champion at the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters was knocked out on Friday by a South American clay-courter while the tournament's 2022 finalist survived into the second round. With 64 seeds in the men's and women's draw of the last major warm-up prior to the August 30 US Open only going into action from Saturday, interest focused on the fate of 2017 winner Grigor Dimitrov and 2022 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas. The popular Dimitrov was unable to hold onto a 4-1 lead in the third set against Argentine Sebastian Baez, exiting in the first round 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 as he lost the last five games of the encounter. The 35-year-old Dimitrov, his ranking down to 138 and playing on a wild card, was bidding for his first Cincinnati victory in five years. Baez goes on to next play American Learner Tien, a semi-finalist this week in Montreal. Tsitsipas, a one-time world number three now standing 49th after a months-long slump in form, got past Valentin Royer of France 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 after struggling somewhat to close out the victory, which sent him into a match with second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime. The Greek led a set and 5-2 but was broken as he served for victory, with Royer saving two match points on the way to 5-all. Tsitsipas managed a late break two games later on his sixth match point to advance in two hours. "I'm trying to come to the net as much as possible," Tsitsipas said. "Whenever a ball is short I try to capture it inside the baseline. That's where I shined the most. "I felt confidence running through my veins. My offensive strategy helped me today, my composure was excellent." Tsitsipas admitted he was tested at the end as he tried to close out against Royer, and found himself stalling as he missed conversion on winning chances. "It was nerve-wracking at the end with those match points I was not able to capture," the Greek said. "It would have been easy to get tight. "I had to remind myself to stay loose and play aggressive. If I was going to miss, at least I knew I had done the right thing." Tsitsipas, now several months into his coaching split with his father, has lifted his ranking to 49th after coming through qualifying at the Montreal Masters, where he lost in the second round. - Venus skid hits 14 - Hubert Hurkacz, a 2023 semi-finalist, advanced 6-2, 6-4 over qualifying lucky loser Sho Shimabukuro while Italian Matteo Berrettini defeated Thomas Droguet 3-6, 6-2, 6-4, playing only his second match since Wimbledon due to injury. In the WTA draw, Colombian Emilia Arango handed Venus Williams a 14th straight loss dating to July of last year, defeating the fading seven-time Grand Slam champion who is currently ranked 615th in 66 minutes by 6-2, 6-2.  The 46-year-old Williams was given a wild card entry at an event where she reached a semi-final a dozen years ago. She has played and lost 11 times this season while competing on organiser free entries. Czech Sara Bejlek allowed compatriot and 2016 titleholder Karolina Pliskova only two games in a first-round 6-0, 6-2 rout. str/js