Cincinnati [US], August 12 : Defending champion Jannik Sinner advanced to the fourth round of the ongoing Cincinnati Masters, defeating Gabriel Diallo in a third-match interrupted by a fire alarm on Tuesday.
The world number one experienced something he had never seen before, his match getting interrupted during the second set, when a fire alarm at the 1899 club grandstand began to sound. It was several minutes before the game could start once again, and players played through sounds and flashes, with Sinner winning the battle 6-2, 7-6(6) after saving a set point with a clutch forehand service return in the tie-break.
Following his win, Sinner said, as quoted by ATP's official website, "It was a very difficult day at the office. He was serving very well, especially in the second set... If you do not play well in tough situations like this you can lose these matches."
The start of Sinner's match was delayed as Taylor Fritz's match against Lorenzo Sonego faced a 75-minute delay due to a power outage.
Sinner has won 22 matches on the bounce at hard court since his loss to Carlos Alcaraz in the Beijing Open back in October and improved 46-0 versus players ranked outside the Top 20 on hard courts since losing to World No. 66 Dusan Lajovic at Cincinnati two years back.
Sinner is playing his first tournament since his Wimbledon title win over Alcaraz and is on a roll, with a win-loss record of 27-3. He stands just 10 wins away from 300 career wins. He has already qualified for the season-ending ATP Finals, where he will defend his title.
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