Cincinnati Masters: Elena Rybakina overcomes rain to beat Magdalena Frech

Cincinnati: Elena Rybakina needed two hours on court plus two one-hour rain interruptions to defeat Magdalena Frech 6-4, 7-6 (2) on Monday and reach the fourth round at the Cincinnati Masters. The second-seeded Kazakh admitted she struggled to close out a match which dragged on for much of the afternoon.

The players were forced off court after nine games of the first set and again in the seventh game of the second. Upon the second return at the start of a week when rain is repeatedly forecast, two-time Grand Slam champion Rybakina was unable to wrap it up on three match points against the Frech serve in the 12th game.

With the Pole holding serve, the match went to a tie-breaker, where the seed finally got the job done on her fourth chance to get off court barely 10 minutes before more weather arrived.

Moreover, Diana Shnaider beat Maja Chwalinska 6-2 7-6, 6th seed Linda Noskova beat Clara Tauson 7-6 6-2, 3rd seed Jessica Pegula beat Emma Navarro 7-5 6-2, 9th seed Amanda Anisimova beat Alexandra Eala 4-6 6-4 6-2, Madison Keys beat Katerina Siniakova 6-1 6-3 to reach Last 16 stage. Agencies

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