ATP Tour

Zverev outlasts Norrie in late-night Cincinnati finish

Alexander Zverev fought past Cameron Norrie in his opening round-match at the Cincinnati Open, overcoming a set deficit to win 3-6, 6-3, 6-3 in a two-hour, 35-minute contest.

In a match that began Saturday night but finished in the early hours of Sunday morning, Zverev earned his first win of his 2026 North American hard-court swing and avoided back-to-back opening-round losses at the ATP Masters 1000 level. The win also extended Zverev’s record to 8-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Norrie.

"It's funny, I was practising quite well here, which is very different to Canada," Zverev said. "I was playing terrible in Canada, so I knew that I had to get into a match rhythm. Obviously I've been playing well this season but by confidence wasn't there because I lost first round in Canada. It was about finding my rhythm on the match court, and I did that.

"The first set wasn't great, but then afterwards, in the second and third sets, it was a really high level."

Zverev, the current No. 2 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, has his eyes set on capturing a second title in Cincinnati after lifting the trophy at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in 2021. The German has seven Masters 1000 titles to his name but has not won at that level since the 2024 Rolex Paris Masters.

The 2026 Roland Garros champion Zverev will face Terence Atmane in the third round, who is looking to mount another deep run in Cincinnati after reaching the semi-finals in 2025. Atmane booked his third-round berth this year by overcoming Tomas Martin Etcheverry 6-3, 7-6(4).

Elsewhere in Cincinnati on Saturday, fifth seed Alex de Minaur avoided an upset against Quentin Halys by rallying to a 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(4) win. The Australian will next take on Arthur Fery, after the Wimbledon semi-finalist edged James Duckworth 6-4, 2-6, 7-6(4). Jakub Mensik also survived a scare in his opening match, narrowly moving past Mattia Bellucci 7-5, 2-6, 7-6(5). The Czech will next play wild card Rinky Hijikata, who took down 19th seed Luciano Darderi 6-4, 6-2.

#NextGenATP star Martin Landaluce was also victorious over Matteo Arnaldi, downing the Italian in a 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 win. Frenchman Arthur Fils defeated Yannick Hanfmann, setting up a third-round clash with Jiri Lehecka, who defeated Matteo Berrettini 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-3.

View all of Saturday's results here