Elena Rybakina among four players to retire from third-round matches in Cincinnati
Mackenzie McDonald, Donna Vekic and Dusan Lajovic also threw in the towel Thursday at the Western & Southern Open.
As the third round played out Thursday at the Western & Southern Open, the number of mid-match retirements increased over time. By the evening, four competitors had stopped prematurely.
Among them included world No. 4 Elena Rybakina. Last week in Montreal, the Kazakh navigated a clogged schedule that included a near 3 a.m. finish in her marathon quarterfinal win over Daria Kasatkina. She ultimately fell to Liudmila Samsonova in a delayed Sunday semifinal, but returned to action Wednesday to outhit Jelena Ostapenko in a three-set showdown.
Rybakina initially looked poised to reach another quarterfinal against Jasmine Paolini. But after winning their opening set 6-4 on Porsche Court, the 2022 Wimbledon champion stopped when she fell behind 2-5 in set two. The official reason cited was "injuries."
Over on Stadium 3, two matches failed to reach completion status. Adrian Mannarino led Mackenzie McDonald, 6-4, 3-0, when the American threw in the towel with an illness. As a result, the 35-year-old Mannarino advanced to his second career Masters 1000 quarterfinal and first since 2017 in Montreal.
A day earlier, McDonald was on the opposite end of an early finish when Holger Rune retired down a set and a break with a back injury. The 28-year-old moved up to a career-high No. 43 in this week’s ATP rankings following his final-eight run in Toronto, his best showing on the 1000 stage.
After Max Purcell knocked out Stan Wawrinka, Ons Jabeur advanced when a viral illiness saw Donna Vekic retire down 2-5. Jabeur is contesting her first tournament since falling in last month’s Wimbledon final for the second year running.
Taking Grandstand Court, Taylor Fritz also benefited from a shortened day at the office. Racing to a 5-0 lead, the top-ranked American’s place in Friday’s quarterfinal lineup was confirmed when Dusan Lajovic decided he could no longer continue due to a toe injury.
Lajovic was contesting his fifth match in six days, having come through the qualifying rounds. Twenty-four hours earlier, the Serbian ousted incoming Toronto champion Jannik Sinner in straight sets.
Fritz awaits 23-time major champion Novak Djokovic, who dismissed French favorite Gael Monfils.