Arabic version: دي مينور وهيجيكاتا يتقدمان في سينسيناتي

According to ABC News, Australians Alex de Minaur and Rinky Hijikata won their round-of-64 matches at the Cincinnati Open, continuing the Australian men’s run at the final Masters 1000 event before the US Open.

Fifth seed de Minaur, who had an opening-round bye, recovered after losing the first set in 26 minutes to beat France’s Quentin Halys 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). Halys had won their only previous meeting, at the Miami Masters in 2023. De Minaur lost his first two service games but was not broken again in the match.

The Australian will play Brit Arthur Fery in the round of 32. Fery defeated James Duckworth 6-4, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4) in a match lasting a little more than two-and-a-half hours. It will be the first tour meeting between de Minaur and the 32nd-seeded French-born Fery.

Earlier, 25-year-old wildcard Hijikata defeated 19th seed Luciano Darderi of Italy 6-4, 6-2. Hijikata’s next opponent is 14th seed Jakub Menšík of Czechia. Their victories followed first-round wins by Duckworth, Adam Walton and Chris O’Connell, while Thanasi Kokkinakis was beaten.

Elsewhere, Argentine Thiago Agustin Tirante defeated Novak Djokovic in three sets. Djokovic, 39, was playing his first match since losing a Wimbledon semifinal to Jannik Sinner, struggled in the heat and took a medical timeout. The world number 50 Tirante called it the best win of his career, while Djokovic said the match was not enjoyable because of how he felt.