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CINCINNATI: Carlos Alcaraz beat the heat and humidity of a Midwest summer as the world No. 2 advanced to the fourth round of the ATP and WTA Cincinnati Open on Tuesday.

The Spanish second seed kept his exposure to a minimum in 32 Celsius conditions, taking an efficient 95 minutes to dispatch Serb Hamad Medjedovic 6-4, 6-4, for his 50th match win of the year.

“Medjedovic doesn’t like to run that much, so I tried to move him around as much as possible,” Alcaraz said. “But it was difficult with the ball flying so much and his shots coming so fast. I tried to defend in a good way.”

Alcaraz has been on a tear in 2025 as he chases Jannik Sinner in the ATP rankings, and now owns 13 straight victories at the Masters 1000 level.

He will play for the quarterfinals against Luca Nardi after the Italian defeated Jakob Mensik 6-2, 2-1 with the Czech retiring after 42 minutes.

Five-time Grand Slam winner Alcaraz, who is preparing for the approaching US Open start, added: “I was really happy to get the win in a very difficult match.

“The season is very long and in at least half of your matches you don’t feel that good (physically).

“But you have to stay positive and play your best tennis on the day. I’m proud about that. It’s a goal of the season.”

Francisco Comesano and Reilly Opelka both felt the heat of their mid-day match, which was interrupted for 45 minutes by rain, as the Argentine limped to a 6-7 (4/7), 6-4, 7-5 win while saving three match points.

Comesano needed a medical time out midway through the second set, but came back out to continue what turned into a fight of nearly three hours against the American.

Opelka called for the doctor just moments from his eventual loss, complaining of dizziness and high blood pressure after being broken for 5-6 in the final set.

After a quick consultation at his chair, Opelka was back on court to weakly scoop a return into the net on his opponent’s second match point.

The 71st-ranked South American will face ninth seed Andrey Rublev, who beat Australian Alexei Popyrin 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/5), 7-5.

Opelka, noted for his big serve, fired 27 aces but also committed nearly 60 unforced errors. Comesano broke on four of his 13 chances.

He is the first Argentine into the Cincy round of 16 since Diego Schwartzman in 2022.

In the WTA draw, second seed Coco Gauff eased into the fourth round when opponent Dayana Yastremska withdrew before their Tuesday match.

The American, who won the 2023 Cincinnati title and followed up with a US Open crown, will await an opponent from former Roland Garros champion Jelena Ostapenko and Italian Lucia Bronzetti.

Yastremska was unable to play due to illness, the WTA said.

Seventh seed Jasmine Paolini, last season’s Roland Garros and Wimbledon finalist, defeated American Ashlyn Krueger 7-6, (7/2), 6-1 while German qualifier Ella Seidel continued her strong showing with a 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (8/6) defeat of McCartney Kessler.

Two-time Grand Slam champion Barbora Krejcikova outlasted American Iva Jovic 6-4, 3-6, 6-2.

JEDDAH: Ronnie O’Sullivan is excited to be back in the Kingdom for the Masters Snooker Championship in Jeddah.

“I love being here in ����ֱ�� at the Snooker Masters and enjoying its unique atmosphere,” he said on Monday of the contest which began on Aug. 8 and ends on Saturday.

“����ֱ�� has set a wonderful example in hosting international tournaments. From the moment you arrive, you feel the grandeur of the tournament and the wonderful experience,” he added.

The organizing committee of the championship held a press conference on Monday attended by Saudi Billiard and Snooker Federation President Naif Al-Jaweini, World Snooker Tour Chairman Steve Dawson, and ����ֱ��’s female referee Najla Al-Nuaimi.

Al-Jaweini lauded the Ministry of Sports’ role in the event, including the partnership with Matchroom and the WST.

“We are still at the beginning of the road, and in the coming years we will achieve many accomplishments to develop the level of players and referees, and we are pleased to welcome the world’s elite players to this prestigious tournament,” said Al-Jaweini.

The WST’s Dawson said: “The professional organization in ����ֱ�� is on par with the largest international tournaments.”

He added that ����ֱ��’s decision to host the event for 10 years would  “contribute to the development of the game and building a base of talent, players, and referees capable of competing in the world rankings.”

Al-Naimi said: “I am proud to represent ����ֱ�� in the field of refereeing, and I hope to see more Saudi women in this field of this distinguished sport.

“The tournament has given me a wealth of experience by rubbing shoulders with the best referees in the world.”

Defending champion Judd Trump also had praise for the Kingdom’s organization.

“Since the first edition, the attendance and interest have been evident, leaving us with many beautiful memories. It would be great to play against a Saudi player in the future, and perhaps see one of them become a world champion.”