German Alexander Zverev, ranked number three in the world, was eliminated on Wednesday in the round of 16 at the Cincinnati Masters 1,000. Zverev lost to American Tommy Paul after wasting a match point during the encounter.
The result was 4-6, 7-6(6) and 6-4 in 2 hours and 51 minutes. In addition to squandering a match point in the second set, Zverev surrendered a 4-2 lead in the third and allowed Paul to win the last four games of the match.
After winning Roland Garros and reaching the Wimbledon final, Zverev will arrive at the US Open with only two victories on hard court during the North American swing. The German lost in his opening match in Canada and in the fourth round in Cincinnati.
Zverev's elimination, as the top seed in Cincinnati, left the tournament completely wide open heading into the quarter-final round. Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime, ranked number 4, became the highest-ranked player among the survivors, while American Taylor Fritz and Italian Flavio Cobolli, both from the top 10 in the world, also advanced.
Wednesday also saw the elimination of Alex de Miñaur, ranked number 8 in the world. Frenchman Arthur Fils, ranked 22, defeated the Australian 6-3 and 6-4 in 1 hour and 22 minutes. Fils will face Argentine Thiago Agustín Tirante in the quarter-finals, who reached that stage of a Masters 1,000 for the first time.
