Halep, del Potro advance at rain-hit Cincinnati Masters

August 17, 2018 | 09:47

(0) user say

Simona Halep and Juan Martin del Potro completed rain-delayed second-round victories on Thursday (Aug 16) as organisers tried to get the weather-hit ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters back on track.

halep del potro advance at rain hit cincinnati masters

Simona Halep of Romania plays Ajla Tomjanovic of Australia during the Cincinnati Masters. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images/AFP)

World number one Halep took advantage of a morning respite from the rain to finish off a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Ajla Tomljanovic.

Halep, clearly frustrated when rain halted the match at 3-3 in the third on Wednesday night, won three straight games to finish off the victory in 10 minutes.

The timing was perfect for French Open champion Halep, as drizzle resumed moments after her contest ended.

Argentina's world number three del Potro had played just six points in the first game of his postponed second-round match against Chung Hyeon before the rain came again.

But the weather cleared, allowing officials to get eight courts into action, and del Potro returned to finish off a 6-2, 6-3 win over the South Korean and set up a night meeting with Australian Nick Kyrgios for a place in the quarter-finals.

With the weather holding, organizers hoped to have the tournament on schedule by the end of the day, with matches featuring Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic still to come.

In third-round action, US Open finalist Madison Keys, the 13th seed, rallied to defeat fourth-seeded Wimbledon champion Angelique Kerber 2-6, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4.

Keys fired 55 winners with 44 unforced errors against the German, who is playing her first hardcourt tournament in the buildup to the US Open.

"I had to keep it cool, she gets lot of balls back," Keys said. "I used my forehand and serve well today. I'm really happy and I'm looking to go further."

Petra Kvitova, a Cincinnati semi-finalist in 2012, reached the last eight with a 6-4, 6-2 win over France's Kristina Mladenovic.

Milos Raonic reached the men's quarter-finals with a 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 victory over fellow Canadian Denis Shapovalov, avenging a loss to his younger compatriot in Madrid three months ago.

AFP

What the stars mean:

★ Poor ★ ★ Promising ★★★ Good ★★★★ Very good ★★★★★ Exceptional