Cincinnati Open 2026 Day Four Recap

Day 4 in Cincinnati introduced a direct shake-up within the backside half of the draw, with Montreal champion Ben Shelton making a speedy exit and Casper Ruud retiring in opposition to qualifier Christopher O’Connell.

Shelton’s 6-4, 6-4 defeat to Jaime Faria was the headline outcome, though maybe not the largest shock given the short turnaround from his title run in Canada.

Elsewhere, Félix Auger-Aliassime made a strong return from harm by beating Stefanos Tsitsipas, João Fonseca continued his sturdy North American swing, and Daniel Mérida Aguilar as soon as once more seemed fully at dwelling on onerous courts.

There have been additionally routine wins for Taylor Fritz, Daniil Medvedev, Lorenzo Musetti and Learner Tien, whereas Brandon Nakashima carried his Montreal kind into one other comfy victory.

Right here’s a take a look at the important thing outcomes and standout matches from Day 4 in Cincinnati.

Day 4 Cincinnati Open Spherical of 64 Outcomes

Winner
Loser
Rating

Taylor Fritz (6)
Alex Michelsen
6-3, 6-4

Daniel Merida Aguilar
Zizou Bergs (30)
6-3, 6-2

Joao Fonseca (23)
Botic van de Zandschulp
6-4, 7-6(2)

Christopher O’Connell (Q)
Casper Ruud (11)
7-5, 1-2 ret.

Andrey Rublev (13)
Pablo Carreno Busta
7-6(5), 6-1

Nuno Borges
Francisco Cerundolo (20)
6-4, 6-4

Brandon Nakashima (27)
Aleksandar Kovacevic
6-2, 7-5

Daniil Medvedev (4)
Marco Trungelliti (Q)
6-4, 7-5

Jaime Faria (Q)
Ben Shelton (8)
6-4, 6-4

Adam Walton
Ignacio Buse (29)
6-4, 6-3

Michael Zheng (Q)
Ugo Humbert (24)
6-4, 6-3

Lorenzo Musetti (10)
Daniel Altmaier
6-4, 6-2

Learner Tien (16)
Sebastian Baez
6-3, 7-6(4)

Frances Tiafoe (17)
Lorenzo Sonego
6-3, 6-4

Juan Manuel Cerundolo
Arthur Rinderknech (25)
4-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(5)

Felix Auger-Aliassime (2)
Stefanos Tsitsipas
6-3, 7-5

Key Match Recap

Jaime Faria def. Ben Shelton 6-4, 6-4

Jaime Faria produced the largest upset of the day, knocking out Montreal champion Ben Shelton in straight units to assert the primary High 10 win of his profession.

Shelton seemed flat from the beginning, which wasn’t an enormous shock because it’s typically the case {that a} title one week is adopted by a let-down the following, and Faria took benefit instantly by breaking early within the opening set.

The second seemed as if it’d swing again in direction of the American when Shelton moved 4-1 forward, however Faria reeled off 5 consecutive video games to shut out the match.

Shelton had loads of probabilities, changing simply one in all 12 break factors, however his stage was nowhere close to what we noticed in Canada.

Does it present Shelton can’t ship week-in, week-out consistency? Perhaps, however he was most likely not that invested within the event and is considering the US Open in a few weeks, the place he’s certainly in with a shot given the potential absence of Sincaraz and the overall stage today.

Félix Auger-Aliassime def. Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-5

Felix Auger-Aliassime made an encouraging return after 40 days away from competitors, defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight units.

The Canadian had not performed since Wimbledon after withdrawing from Montreal with a again harm, however he seemed sharp for many of the contest, taking the opening set comfortably earlier than issues turned extra difficult late within the second.

Auger-Aliassime twice surrendered break benefits and did not serve out the match at 5-4 because the wind picked up, however he regrouped shortly and broke once more earlier than closing it out.

Contemplating the dearth of matches, it was a really strong return in opposition to a good sufficient opponent.

I’m undecided what most guys suppose after they see Tsitsipas on the draw sheet today; 5 years in the past you’d have buckled up for a troublesome one, now just about all comers should fancy their probabilities.

João Fonseca def. Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 7-6(2)

João Fonseca continued his sturdy North American hard-court swing with a straight-sets win over Botic van de Zandschulp.

The Brazilian made one other barely sluggish begin, falling behind an early break, however shortly recovered and step by step started overpowering the Dutchman from the baseline.

Fonseca additionally let a second-set benefit slip, permitting Van de Zandschulp again into rivalry, however the tie-break was fully one-sided because the 19-year-old raced via it 7-2.

Daniil Medvedev def. Marco Trungelliti 6-4, 7-5

Daniil Medvedev prevented the form of early exit that has turn out to be more and more widespread for him this season, defeating qualifier Marco Trungelliti in two aggressive units.

It wasn’t spectacular, however Medvedev did sufficient on the essential moments and secured his first Cincinnati victory since 2023.

The win additionally marked his a hundredth Masters 1000 victory on onerous courts, not unhealthy for the self-proclaimed onerous court docket specialist.

His subsequent match in opposition to Brandon Nakashima ought to inform us significantly extra about his stage which I’m not actually satisfied of.

Daniel Mérida Aguilar def. Zizou Bergs 6-3, 6-2

Daniel Mérida Aguilar’s wonderful run continued with one other comfy victory, this time in opposition to thirtieth seed Zizou Bergs.

The Spaniard has barely had time to course of his Montreal quarter-final run, however he has carried that confidence straight into Cincinnati, dominating Bergs from the baseline and by no means permitting the Belgian to determine himself.

He now faces Taylor Fritz, which ought to present a a lot sterner examination of simply how far his hard-court sport has come.

Different Matches of Notice

Taylor Fritz made a simple begin by beating Alex Michelsen 6-3, 6-4, levelling their head-to-head at 2-2 after shedding their first two conferences.

Learner Tien continued his wonderful kind from Montreal with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Sebastián Báez and now faces Frances Tiafoe, who comfortably defeated Lorenzo Sonego.

Nuno Borges produced a very good straight-sets victory over Francisco Cerúndolo, whereas Brandon Nakashima maintained his kind by beating Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-2, 7-5.

Michael Zheng claimed one other notable outcome by knocking out Ugo Humbert, and Juan Manuel Cerúndolo survived a marathon in opposition to Arthur Rinderknech, profitable two consecutive tie-breaks to succeed in the third spherical.

Highlights

Cincinnati Open Day 5 Spherical of 32 Matches