Reigning Australian Open champions Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka showcased their hard-court dominance again this past week in Cincinnati. After claiming the singles titles at the ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event—the highest level outside of the majors—both will seek to complete a sweep of this season's hard-court Grand Slams at the US Open.
On Monday night in Cincinnati, world No. 1 Sinner beat Frances Tiafoe, 7-6(4), 6-2, to win his ATP Tour-leading fifth singles title of the season. Sabalenka beat Jessica Pegula, 6-3, 7-5, in the afternoon, backing up a semifinal victory against Iga Swiatek to claim her first trophy since Melbourne.
Sinner battled through apparent hip issues to record three-set wins against Andrey Rublev and Alexander Zverev en route to the final, then ran away with the trophy match against Tiafoe behind a scorching second set.
"It was a very difficult week, tough week. I'm very happy about today's match," Sinner said in his on-court interview. "It was very tough mentally. I had such an amazing run here, and I tried to do my best today. We both were quite tired from yesterday. We both felt a lot of tension, but I'm very glad about the level I played today, especially in the important moments."
The hip issue has plagued Sinner for much of the 2024 season, notably forcing him to withdraw from Madrid ahead of the quarterfinals. After a worrying defeat to Rublev in the Montreal quarters, when he again appeared hampered by the injury, Sinner flipped the script in Cincinnati. He came from a set down to beat Rublev in the Ohio quarters and then survived a third-set tiebreak against Roland Garros finalist Zverev in the semis.
After playing seven matches in 12 days, Sinner can now turn his full attention to the US Open, where his best result was a quarterfinal showing in 2022.
"Now, for sure, it's important to recover, to be to be ready for New York. This is our main goal here for this U.S. swing," Sinner said. "I’m very happy to be in a position where I am and just trying to keep going mentally, having this hunger to keep playing, and hopefully I can show some good tennis also New York."
Sabalenka has been closer to US Open glory, reaching the final last season on the heels of back-to-back semifinals in 2022 and 2023. A shoulder injury kept her out of Wimbledon, but she enters New York as the favorite to win her third major crown.
"I think I was really emotional in Washington and Toronto coming back after injury," she said. "I was overreacting, and I just stepped back and realized that I played my great tennis when I was calm and confident—that no matter what's going on on the court, I'll be able to keep fighting and keep trying my best no matter what the score, what the situation is.
"And I just realized that I have to be that way. There is no other way for me if I want to do well here and New York."
Sabalenka's sixth WTA 1000 title also lifted her back up to world No. 2, moving her ahead of Coco Gauff and securing her the second seed at the US Open. The 26-year-old did not lose a set in Cincinnati, but may have saved her best performance for last to end Toronto champ Pegula's nine-match winning streak in the final.
Sabalenka hit 10 aces and won 91% of her first-serve points in the title match, with her only wobble coming when she was broken on her first attempt to serve out the match at 5-4.
During the trophy ceremony, Pegula compared her opponent—who hit 29 winners—to Serena Williams.
"Funny, [the on-court interviewer] said 'Aryna' and I thought he said 'Serena.' But it felt like Serena today with the way you were serving there," Pegula joked. "I don't know, I may have wanted Serena instead of Aryna today."
Both players will seek to channel their inner Serena in New York. The American icon won six US Open titles among her 23 Grand Slam singles crowns.
