Archive of posts tagged Cincy

The secret behind Ben Shelton's rise revealed

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Alexander Zverev

All the players who participated in the 'Canadian Open' that took place in Toronto knew they had a huge chance due to the numerous absences among the top players. World No.1 Jannik Sinner missed the prestigious Canadian tournament and World No.2 Carlos Alcaraz also made the chosen star, as well as 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic and young English star Jack Draper.

This huge chance was exploited by Ben Shelton in the best way, with the American ace who was able to win the first Masters 1000 title of his young career thanks to an amazing run. The American talent had to overcome several difficulties during the tournament, but he showed that he has grown from all points of view and the final against Karen Khachanov certified his improvements.

The two top favorites to win in Ontario were Alexander Zverev and Taylor Fritz, while Ben was better than them at handling the pressure and will try to extend his positive momentum at the Cincinnati Masters 1000 as well. His main goal is the US Open, scheduled from August 24 to September 7, a tournament that suits his game very well (where he reached the semifinals in 2023).

Roddick praises Shelton

On the latest episode of his famous podcast, former world No.1 Andy Roddick highlighted that he has noticed some progresses in Shelton's game: “His ability to drive the backhand, middle, and cross. He is not taking random cuts down the line with it, and when he does, it’s a finishing shot. But comfort in really taking big swings through the middle, through cross.

He has developed that shot, and you say the chip is a change-up, no, it’s more than that. It gives him the option to change the pattern of the entire rally. That is a big deal. Once it comes to his forehand, he has got options.”

Ben’s next opponent in Cincy will be Spanish veteran Roberto Bautista Agut, who defeated Cameron Norrie in the previous round.

Frances Tiafoe recounts people 'clowning' him for thinking he'd be pro tennis player

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2024 US Open

Frances Tiafoe says people used to "clown" him for believing he would become a pro tennis player, but adds he is now the last one laughing. 

The American tennis star, whose parents immigrated from Sierra Leone to the United States in the 1990s to escape the civil war that was happening at the time, celebrated his 27th birthday in January. 

At 27, Tiafoe has achieved some notable stuff and he has been regularly participating in the main-level tournaments for several years now. In his collection, the current world No. 12 has three ATP titles and he is also a two-time Grand Slam semifinalist. Also, he knows how it feels to be a top-10 player, having achieved a career-high ranking of No. 10 in mid-2023.

While Tiafoe has been one of the faces of American men's tennis for the past couple of years, he was once heavily doubted. 

Tiafoe: People wouldn't take me seriously when I'd tell them I wanted to be a pro

“I’d tell guys from the [club] that I’d want to be a pro. They would just clown and not take it seriously. I was always like: ‘Don’t worry, man. I’m going to be the last person laughing.’ Here we are today," the 2022 and 2024 US Open semifinalist told The Guardian.

As mentioned above, Tiafoe has a solid resume and he has proven capable of doing some nice things. However, the world No. 12 believes the best is yet to come and that he will pull off much better accomplishments before he retires.

“I’m still young – I’ve still got a lot more to achieve. I still haven’t scratched the surface of my career," the American said.

Currently, Tiafoe is competing at the Cincinnati Masters, where he plays Ugo Humbert in the third round. Last year, the 27-year-old came close to winning the biggest title of his career in Cincinnati before losing to Jannik Sinner in the final.

Tiafoe is certainly hoping to go a step further this year and lift his maiden Masters title in Cincy.

Coco Gauff confesses one mistake she probably made after Montreal run ends in R16

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Canada

Coco Gauff made an honest admission following her Montreal exit as the American tennis star admitted that she probably should have played in Washington and tried to kickstart her summer on hard courts in the United States capital.

After losing in the Wimbledon first round, Gauff went a full month without playing a match. This week, the world No. 2 returned to action by kicking off her North American hard-court swing at the WTA 1000 in Montreal. In Canada, the two-time Grand Slam champion heavily struggled with her serve and rhythm, but still managed to clinch ugly wins over Danielle Collins and Veronika Kudermetova before world No. 87 Victoria Mboko handed her a 6-1 6-4 loss.

Across her three matches played, Gauff served 43 double faults and committed over 100 unforced errors. After the Mboko loss, the reigning French Open winner was asked if she had an idea why it was so hard to find her game and rhythm in Montreal.

Gauff: Deciding to practice over playing in Washington maybe wasn't the right decision…

"I don't know. That's a good question, honestly. I felt like in practice I was playing well the last few weeks just practicing. I decided to take some time off and not play DC to actually focus on that, and maybe that wasn't the right decision. Maybe it was better to get more matches under my belt. But you know, it's the first tournament on the hard court season, so I'm hoping that in Cincy and in New York I can find that rhythm," the world No. 2 explained.

In four days, the WTA 1000 tournament in Cincinnati is starting. While Gauff's Montreal run wasn't an impressive run, the 21-year-old still got some matches under her belt and that's a positive thing.

Cincinnati is a special place for Gauff, who lifted her maiden WTA 1000 crown in front of her home fans two years ago.

“It Hasn’t Been Great” – Pegula Bothered by ‘Sloppy” Tennis

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It’s just about time for Jessica Pegula to return to the scene of her first major final. The World No.4 would like to head to the 2025 US Open with a little wind beneath her wings, but at the moment she can’t seem to get her feet off the ground.

The Buffalo native produced another head-scratching effort against 386-ranked Anastasija Sevastova on Friday in Montreal, dropping 12 of the final 15 games to make it just one win in four matches since the start of Wimbledon.

“It hasn’t been great, to be honest. I don’t really feel like I’m playing great tennis.”

— Jessica Pegula

Pegula was the two-time defending champion in Canada this week, but could not summon the confidence that took her to titles in Montreal in 2023 and Toronto last year.

For Pegula, who played and lost the final to Aryna Sabalenka at the US Open last year, it simply isn’t good enough.

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“It hasn’t been great, to be honest,” the 31-year-old said on Friday in Montreal. “I don’t really feel like I’m playing great tennis. At times I am, but I feel very up and down, kind of sloppy, which I don’t like. It really bothers me. I’m kind of a perfectionist, so I don’t like having to say that.

“I feel like I’ve gone through phases in my career, a few tournaments, where I feel like that sometimes, and you have to figure out how to get out of it and not feel sorry for yourself or make excuses. I’ve got figure it out.”

Pegula still has time to right the ship. She’ll head to the Cincinnati Open next week, hoping to build momentum ahead of the final Grand Slam of the year.

She believes she needs to be a better problem solver, starting now.

“You have to do it in those moments in matches where you’re in that moment where you have to compete and figure things out,” she said. “I don’t think I’ve been able to do it great the last couple of matches, so hopefully going into Cincy I think that’s definitely going to be my main focus every single match is focusing on those big points and those big games because I do think I am playing some good tennis to get up in these matches, and there’s times where I’m reeling off six, seven really good games, and then it kind of falls away.

“So I’ve got to figure out how to kind of sustain that higher level against these good players.”

Caroline Garcia Plans Cincinnati Return Before US Open Farewell

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By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, July 31, 2025
Photo credit: Brad Penner/USTA/US Open

Caroline Garcia plans a Queen City return before her final farewell in Queens.

The 31-year-old Garcia aims to plan next month’s Cincinnati WTA 1000 event in preparation for her final tournament at the 2025 US Open.

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Tennis Express player gear

Garcia shared a brief video of her training with coach Bertrand Perret on Instagram Stories today. She captioned the video “Getting ready for Cincy tennis with my fave coach Bertrand Perret.”

It’s been a life-changing month for Garcia, who married long-time boyfriend Borja Durán in a beautiful and joyous ceremony earlier this month.

The happy couple shared exquisite images from their wedding ceremony on social media.

“The most beautiful day of our lives,” Garcia posted on social media.

The July 19th wedding comes nearly 13 months to the day after the couple announced their engagement.

Borja Durán is a Catalan university professor who has lived in Barcelona.

The couple launched their own podcast, The Tennis Insider Club, last year.

They’ve interviewed several stars, including Gael Monfils, Alize Cornet, Andrey Rublev and Victoria Azarenka for the podcast.

Former world No. 4 Garcia announced her intention to retire from the pro tour after the 2025 US Open in May. Garcia won 11 WTA singles titles, including defeating Aryna Sabalenka to capture the 2022 WTA Finals championship. Garcia and Kristina Mladenovic captured the Roland Garros doubles championship twice.

Leylah Fernandez shares what she considers 'a red flag' ahead of her first date

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Anna Kalinskaya

Leylah Fernandez is revealing what she considers a red flag ahead of her first date and that's seeing a person using "a lot of slang."

10 days ago, the 2021 US Open champion candidly admitted to never being on a date and asked potential suitors to slide into her Instagram DM for a potential date in Montreal. While competing in Washington, the 22-year-old funnily told interested individuals to feel safe to reach out to her because it was not true that her father/coach Jorge was "unwelcoming."

After winning the WTA 500 tournament in Washington, Fernandez arrived in Montreal – the place where she should have her first date. During an appearance on Tennis Channel, the panel touched on the subject and asked the Canadian to reveal what she would consider a red flag in a date.

"I think the No. 1 red flag for me is… There's a lot of slang in the message. For me, it's not very… I don't like to say proper but it's not easy to understand," Fernandez said.

Fernandez confirmed that she found herself a date

After beating Anna Kalinskaya in the Washington final, the world No. 24 shared that she had found herself a date for Montreal. However, she also added that since she would arrive late to Montreal, she would likely push back the date. 

"Honestly, I told my date that we might have to push it back a little bit because I'm still in DC. So, hopefully, maybe at the end of Montreal, I get to have that date finally, but we've been talking and keeping in touch to hopefully schedule it at the end of Montreal before going to Cincy," Fernandez said.

Since the 22-year-old lost in the Montreal first round on Tuesday, her date might come in the next day or so.