W&S Open notebook: Top 4 ATP players take a hit; Vondrousova builds off Wimbledon win

MASON, Ohio − For the second time in three days, No. 16 Alexander Zverev was matched up against a fellow former Western & Southern Open champion in the main singles draw.

After defeating 2017 winner Grigor Dimitrov in the first round on Tuesday, Zverev, the 2021 champion, took care of No. 3 Daniil Medvedev (2019 W&S Open winner) in a back-and-forth three-setter (6-4, 5-7, 6-4) on a windy Thursday morning at the Lindner Family Tennis Center to advance into the quarterfinals.

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"He (Medvedev) is one of the best players in the world. On hard court, if he's playing his best, he may be the best players in the world," Zverev said. "You have to play at your highest level to have a chance."

It's a rivalry that's been heating up over recent stops on the tour, but it had been particularly one-sided with Medvedev, of Russia, winning all three meetings this year − Indian Wells (6-7 (5), 7-6 (5), 7-5), Monte Carlo (3-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7)) and the Italian Open (6-2, 7-6 (3)).

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"We've played three times this year and I've lost three very tight matches. That alone is special for me," Zverev said. "Just getting that win was quite big for me."

In a match with heavy wind gusts on an overcast morning in Cincinnati, Zverev stayed consistent in front of a packed crowd that filled the rows of the Grandstand from the beginning of play. In the third set, Zverev survived a pair of break points and later broke Medvedev's serve to win a match that lasted 2 hours and 32 minutes.

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No. 4 Tsitsipas falls to Hurkacz

It's been a tough two-day stretch for the top 5 players in the Pepperstone ATP rankings. On Wednesday, No. 5 Casper Rudd fell to Australian qualifier Max Purcell.

Shortly after No. 3 Medvedev went down on Thursday, No. 4 Stefanos Tsitsipas, last year's Western & Southern Open runner-up, was denied a fifth consecutive trip to the quarterfinals when he was upset by Hubert Hurkacz in straight sets 6-3, 6-4.

Hurkacz was in the groove from the start of the third-round match, even hitting a stylish front-facing tweener shot while leading 2-0 in the second set.

"I just felt in the moment that was the shot to play," Hurkacz laughed. "Lucky, it worked out. Some night you have those shots and this was quite a good one."

Thursday was one of those nights for Hurkacz, who held a 2-7 Lexus ATP Head2Head record against Tsitsipas going into the match and is now headed to his first-ever Western & Southern Open quarterfinal.

Hurkacz, ranked No. 20, made a run to the Round of 16 at Wimbledon in July (losing to Novak Djokovic) and fell to No. 1 Carlos Alvaraz in the Canadian Open Round of 16 one week ago.

"You always have to move forward. You have to take some positives to improve from previous matches," Hurkacz said. "I think this year, I have been having some good results. We put in the work every single day and try to get better."

Hurkacz advances to face a player who made history in Cincinnati Thursday night.

Alexei Popyrin makes history as a Lucky Loser

Sitting inside the players' lounge on Tuesday, Alexei Popyrin was given just a few minutes to warm up before filling in as the Lucky Loser for Karen Khachanov, who withdrew from the tournament with an injury.

Popyrin, who lost in the second round of qualifying, went on to defeat fellow Lucky Loser Daniel Altmaier (Andy Murray's replacement) in three sets. Popyrin's next opponent, Nicolas Jarry, has to withdraw from the tournament to go back to Chile for the birth of his child. It gave Popyrin a free trip to the Round of 16 and nearly $90,000 in his pocket.

On Thursday, Popyrin's wild ride continued when he beat Finland's Emil Ruusuvuori 6-2, 1-6, 6-3 to become the first Lucky Loser to reach the Western & Southern Open quarterfinals since 2012 (Jeremy Chardy).

Marketa Vondrousova building on Wimbledon success

During her pre-tournament press conference on Sunday, No. 10 Marketa Vondrousova reflected on her first match of Wimbledon, coincidentally, against Cincinnati native Peyton Stearns.

Vondrousova felt no pressure due to a sub-par history in grass matches. She dispatched Stearns 6-2, 7-5, and 12 days later she topped Ons Jabeur for an unlikely Wimbledon title.

Since then, she's had a target on her back.

"The pressure is on. Maybe you just have to get used to it," Vondrousova said Aug. 13. "They expect you to win more matches and I'm not the underdog anymore."

Vondrousova now has a target on her back, but she's not giving much hope to the new underdogs she's facing. She's won each of her first three matches in straight sets, including Thursday morning's 7-5, 6-3 triumph over Sloane Stephens, who was coming off an upset of reigning Western & Southern Open champion Caroline Garcia.

Vondrousova entered this week with an 0-3 lifetime record in Cincinnati. She's now evened that record at 3-3 and reached her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal since 2020 (Rome). She'll face World No. 1 Iga Swiatek on Friday for a spot in the semifinals.

Marie Bouzkova takes out another top opponent

No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the top-ranked American, was bidding for her third quarterfinals trip in Cincinnati over the last four seasons. Unfortunately, she ran into Marie Bouzkova, who has a knack for rising to the challenge against high-ranked opponents.

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Bouzkova, who took care of Irina-Camelia Begu and Elise Mertens the last two days, dominated the Canadian Open champion, 6-4, 6-0. Bouzkova now has three consecutive victories against top 5 opponents after defeating Coco Gauff (No. 5) in Rome and Carolina Garcia (No. 5) at Wimbledon.

Bouzkova faces Karolina Muchova in the quarterfinals on Friday.

This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: W&S Open notebook: ATP's No. 3, No. 4 seeds fall, Vondrousova cruises