Tennis-Zverev rolls past home hope into Cincinnati third round, Shelton advances

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(Reuters) -German third seed Alexander Zverev swatted aside home hope Nishesh Basavareddy 6-3 6-3 in the second round of the Cincinnati Open on Sunday, as Canadian Open winner Ben Shelton advanced when Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli retired injured.

The 2021 champion Zverev never faced a break and closed out the evening programme on the Grandstand with one of a dozen aces across the match, as he tuned out the rowdy U.S. crowd that was squarely in his opponent’s corner.

He will meet American Brandon Nakashima in the third round.

Fresh off winning the biggest title of his career in Toronto, American Shelton was up a set and a break when Ugo Carabelli stopped short and clutched his knee in pain in the fourth game of the second set.

The Argentine tried to play on after taking a medical timeout but could not continue, clearing a path for Shelton to next face Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut, who beat Briton Cam Norrie 6-4 6-3 earlier in the day.

Carlos Alcaraz bounced back from a mid-match slump to down Bosnian Damir Dzumhur 6-1 2-6 6-3, as he hopes to keep his extraordinary run on track after reaching the finals of his last six tournaments.

After a routine start, the second-ranked Spaniard racked up an uncharacteristic number of unforced errors in the second set before regaining his composure, outfoxing his opponent at the net before closing it out with a solid forehand shot.

“I have to be better, for sure. I started the match really well, feeling the ball pretty good,” Alcaraz, who next faces Serbia’s Hamad Medjedovic, told the Tennis Channel. “I just want to feel much better in the next round.”

Second seed Coco Gauff overcame early problems on serve to cruise past China’s Wang Xinyu 6-3 6-2, keeping her composure despite eight double faults in the first set to book a meeting with Ukraine’s Dayana Yastremska in the third round.

The 2023 champion converted on all five break point chances she got on Center Court and was firing on all cylinders as she won 20 of her last 23 points on serve.

“I had a shaky start with the serve but I was able to push through and figure that out,” Gauff told the Tennis Channel.

“Just taking my time and remembering the things we worked on in practice and just trying not to, I guess, fall into the same old patterns.”

Gauff’s compatriot and former doubles partner, fourth seed Jessica Pegula, eased past Australian Kimberly Birrell 6-4 6-3, on a day with few upsets at the U.S. Open tune-up tournament.

American Reilly Opelka got the home crowd going as he overcame the Australian sixth seed Alex de Minaur 7-6(6) 6-4, while Australian Adam Walton knocked out the 2019 winner Daniil Medvedev 6(0)-7 6-4 6-1 in another surprise result.

(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York; Editing by Ken Ferris and Michael Perry)