…Daniil Medvedev suffers shock second-round exit to Jiri Lehecka
Iga Swiatek kicked off her campaign at the Cincinnati Open with a battling three-set victory over Varvara Gracheva.
The world No. 1 was back on the court for the first time since competing in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, where she picked up a bronze medal.
Swiatek was made to work hard in her opener in Ohio as she secured a 6-0 6-7(8) 6-2 win against Gracheva.
The Pole wrapped up the first set in 50 minutes – dishing out yet another bagel of the season – and looked set to stroll to a straight-sets victory when she led 5-2 in the second, but Gracheva managed to save five match points and force a tie-break.
Swiatek again looked on course to ease through the breaker as she held a 4-2 lead, but Gracheva produced a fine comeback to win four consecutive points to force a third set.
However, the Pole regained her composure and focus to break Gracheva three times in the third set and claim a first-round win after 2 hours and 11 minutes.
In the men’s draw, former world No. 1 Daniil Medvedev suffered a shock second-round exit in Cincinnati after a straight-sets defeat at the hands of Jiri Lehecka.
Since reaching the semi-finals at Wimbledon earlier this summer, Medvedev has struggled to maintain much consistency and this was shown once again as he slipped to a 7-6(2) 6-4 loss.
It was an even bigger shock as Lehecka only returned from injury in July after facing a spell of two months on the sidelines due to a back injury.
