Top seeds Aryna Sabalenka and Alexander Zverev suffered surprise Cincinnati Masters exits just hours apart Wednesday as rain disrupted fourth-round play.
American Tommy Paul saved a match point before completing a 4-6, 7-6 (8-6), 6-4 upset of Germany’s Zverev.
The biggest shock came on the women’s side, where Czech 35th-ranked Sara Bejlek stunned world No. 1 Sabalenka 7-6 (9-7), 6-4 in a gritty battle that ended shortly after midnight Thursday.
Former champion Sabalenka appeared in control early, opening a break lead and racing to a 5-1 advantage in the first-set tiebreaker. But Bejlek mounted a remarkable comeback, winning six of the next eight points to take the set after 65 minutes.
Bejlek continued to frustrate Sabalenka in the second set, breaking the Belarusian three times and recovering from 4-1 down to seize control.
