Friday's results at the 2023 Western & Southern Open | Saturday's schedule
The chase for the Rookwood Cup continues to heat up with the quarterfinals (Final 8) set to start Friday morning at the Western & Southern Open from the Lindner Family Tennis Center.
Western & Southern Open: Thursday's results, Friday schedule
Of the 16 seeded players entering the tournament, five remain on the WTA side and four are left from the ATP side. Friday's action-packed schedule begins a top 10 matchup between World No. 1 Iga Swiatek against No. 10 Marketa Vondrousova in a battle between 2023 Grand Slam champions with Swiatek winning the French Open and Vondrousova claiming the Wimbledon title.
No. 5 Ons Jabeur faces No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka on center court to kick off Friday's night session. It's the first meeting between the two top 5 players. Sabalenka, ranked in the top 10 every week since Nov. 2020, is looking for her 12th hard court title and has the second-most wins on the tour (43) this year. American and No. 7 seed Coco Gauff has dominated thus far, winning 24 of 32 total games in back-to-back straight-set victories. She'll face qualifier Jasmine Paolini on Friday. The Italian was a longshot qualifier to start the week and this quarterfinal is her sixth match of the week as she tries to become the fourth qualifier all-time to reach the Western & Southern Open semifinals.
More: World No. 1s Carlos Alcaraz, Iga Swiatek advance to Western & Southern Open quarterfinals
In the only unseeded WTA match on the slate, Karolina Muchova takes on Marie Bouzkova. It's the third meeting between the two with Muchova winning the most recent matchup in the Miami qualifying in 2019.
More: W&S Open notebook: Top 4 ATP players take a hit; Vondrousova builds off Wimbledon win
From the ATP, No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz survived a scare and a pair of rain delays from American Tommy Paul (No. 14) on Thursday, winning in three competitive sets. Alcaraz, needing a Western & Southern finals berth to keep the No. 1 ranking, faces Australian qualifier Max Purcell, who has gone from the qualifying rounds to center court against the top-ranked player in the world.
More: Uber rides, border patrol, airport naps: Max Purcell's rocky road to W&S Open Round of 16
Chasing Alcaraz is No. 2 Novak Djokovic, who cruised past Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-2 on Thursday and will face No. 9 Taylor Fritz in the quarterfinals. The No. 1 ranking has changed hands six times this year between Alcaraz and Djokovic. Fritz, who is 31-8 on hard court this year, is 0-6 lifetime against Djokovic, with five of those losses in straight sets.
Hubert Hurkacz faces Alexei Popyrin on center court during the day. Popyrin is the first Lucky Loser to reach the Cincinnati quarterfinals in 11 years. Hurkacz, the top Polish men's player in history, is appearing in his seventh career ATP Masters 1000. Popyrin has reached a career-high No. 40 ranking and would move up seven spots if his unlikely run continues to the semifinals. Former Western & Southern Open champion No. 16 Alexander Zverev faces France's Adrian Mannarino in the quarterfinals after knocking out No. 3 Daniil Medvedev in three sets Thursday.
Here's how the action unfolded Friday.
ATP Results
Singles
No. 2 Novak Djokovic d. No. 9 Taylor Fritz 6-0, 6-4
No. 16 Alexander Zverev d. Adrian Mannarino 6-2, 6-3
No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz d. Max Purcell 4-6, 6-3, 6-4
Hubert Hurkacz d. Alexei Popyrin 6-1, 7-6 (8)
Doubles
No. 2 Ivan Dodig/Austin Krajicek d. Marcelo Melo/Alexander Zverev 7-6, 6-3
No. 6 Santiago Gonzalez/Edouard Roger-Vasselin d. Christopher Eubanks/Ben Shelton 7-5, 6-7 (11-9)
Jamie Murray/Michael Venus d. Lorenzo Musetti/Lorenzo Sonego 7-6 (5), 7-6 (7)
Maximo Gonzalez/Andres Molteni d. Nikola Mektic/John Peers 6-4, 6-4
WTA Results
Singles
No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka d. No. 5 Ons Jabeur 7-5, 6-3
No. 7 Coco Gauff d. Jasmine Paolini 6-3, 6-2
Karolina Muchova d. Marie Bouzkova 3-0, (retired)
No. 1 Iga Swiatek d. No. 10 Marketa Vondrousova 7-6 (3), 6-1.
Doubles
No. 3 Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Ellen Perez d. Hao-Ching Chan/Guiliana Olmos 2-6, 6-4, (10-5)
Alycia Parks/Taylor Townsend d. No. 2 Storm Hunter/Elise Mertens 6-4, 6-2
Hao-Ching Chan/Giuliana Olmost d. Barbora Krejcikova/Katerina Siniakova 6-3, 6-4
Alycia Parks/Taylor Townsend d. Desirae Krawczyk/Demi Schuurs 4-6, 6-0, (10-6)
No. 2 Storm Hunter/Elise Mertens d. Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova/Luisa Stefani 6-2, 6-1
Saturday's schedule
Center Court (11 a.m. start)
WTA: No. 1 Iga Swiatek vs. No. 7 Coco Gauff
(Not before 1 p.m.)
WTA: No. 2 Aryna Sabalenka vs. Karolina Muchova
(Not before 3 p.m.)
ATP: No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz vs. Hubert Hurkacz
(Not before 6 p.m.)
ATP: No. 2 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 16 Alexander Zverev
(followed by)
WTA: No. 3 Nicole Melichar-Martinez/Ellen Perez vs. Alycia Parks/Taylor Townsend
Grandstand (1 p.m. start)
ATP: No. 6 Santiago Gonzalez/Edouard Roger-Vasselin vs. Jamie Murray/Michael Venus
(Followed by, to be arranged)
ATP: Maximo Gonzalez/Andres Molteni vs. No. 2 Ivan Dodig/Austin Krajicek
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Friday's results at the 2023 Western & Southern Open | Saturday's schedule
