Friday’s Top 4 Tennis Matches: Djokovic, Sabolenko, Alcaraz Battle in Cincinnati
Daniil Salnikov August 18, 2023, 09:35 Moscow time
What to see on August 18 on the courts of the world.
See all events on August 18 at the Championship Match Center
Program in summary:
🎾 18:00*: Iga Swiatek (Poland, 1) – Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic, 10), Cincinnati, 1/4 final 🎾 22:00*: Carlos Alcaraz (Spain, 1) – Max Purcell (Australia, Q ) , Cincinnati, 1/4 final 🎾 2:00*: Ons Jaber (Tunisia, 5) – Arina Sabolenko (Belarus, 2), Cincinnati, 1/4 final 🎾 3:30*: Taylor Fritz (USA) ., 9) – Novak Djokovic (Serbia, 2), Cincinnati, 1/4 final
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The time on the material is indicated in Moscow.
🎾 18:00*: Iga Swiatek (Poland, 1) – Marketa Vondrousova (Czech Republic, 10), Cincinnati, 1/4 final
*Game schedules are subject to change and will be confirmed
Mystery: who will win the TBSH battle of the champions?
Four-time Slam winner Iga Sviontek and Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova will meet in this match. Previously, the tennis players met once, at Roland Garros, 2020, Sviontek scored a landslide victory. Note that both tennis players before these quarterfinals did not meet a single seeded opponent on the road. The future winner of this match in the 1/2 final will play the best tennis player from the pair Yasmine Paolini – Corey Gauff.
Iga Sviontek
Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
🎾 22:00*: Carlos Alcaraz (Spain, 1) – Max Purcell (Australia, Q), Cincinnati, 1/4 final
*Game schedules are subject to change and will be confirmed
Intrigue: how will the match between Alcaraz and the Australian qualifier turn out?
The first racket in the world, Carlos Alcaraz, continues to make his way with great difficulty through the grid of the Cincinnati Masters. He faced Australian qualifier Jordan Thompson in three sets, then defeated American Tommy Paul in over three hours, avenging the loss a week ago in Toronto. Now the 20-year-old Spaniard will face another Australian representative, Max Purcell, whom he has never played before. Max is now the 70th racket in the world. In June, he climbed to the top for himself 62nd place in the ATP rankings. He still has no ATP-level titles, and in present-day Cincinnati, the 25-year-old Purcell earned his first career victory over the current Top 10 player: he knocked out Kasper Ruud in the second round. And in the next round, the Australian stopped the rapid rise of Stan Wawrinka.
carlos alcaraz
Photo: Aaron Doster/Getty Images
🎾 2:00*: Ons Jaber (Tunisia, 5) – Arina Sobolenko (Belarus, 2), Cincinnati, 1/4 final
*Game schedules are subject to change and will be confirmed
Intrigue: Will Sobolenko get revenge for Wimbledon loss?
In the Cincinnati quarterfinals, two old acquaintances will meet: Ons Zhaber and Arina Sobolenko. The girls have already played five times in official matches, and so far Sobolenko has a slight advantage – 3-2. Arina won Abu Dhabi, Wimbledon 2021 and the 2022 WTA finals, while Ons was stronger at Roland Garros 2020 and the Wimbledon semifinals 2023. Will the Belarusian tennis player be able to take revenge for that insulting defeat a month ago? ?
Arina Sobolenko
Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
🎾 3:30*: Taylor Fritz (USA, 9) v Novak Djokovic (Serbia, 2), Cincinnati, 1/4 Final
*Game schedules are subject to change and will be confirmed
Intrigue: Will Novak keep the “zero” in the loss chart in matches with Fritz?
Novak Djokovic is gradually getting back into shape after a month off from performances. In the third round of the Cincinnati Masters, the Serbian star confidently defeated Frenchman Gael Monfils and brought the score of personal meetings with him in official matches at the ATP level to a record of 19-0. In the quarterfinals, Djokovic will play another opponent he has never lost to: American Taylor Fritz. His Novak has won 6 times in six matches so far: in Monte Carlo, Madrid 2019, the Australian Open, Rome, Paris 2021 and in the semifinals of the 2022 ATP Final Championship.
Novak Djokovic
Photo: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images
