Nadal knocked out at Cincinnati, Steve Johnson moves up

It proved evident in Cincinnati as Coric broke Nadal three times in the opening set, the Spaniard winning just three points on his opponent’s serve.

While Nadal was bundled out in the semi-finals in Rio by a resurgent Juan Martin Del Potro, he did manage to secure gold in the men’s doubles with partner Marc Lopez.

Right from the start, Rafael Nadal was running on empty.

Nadal avenged a loss to Cuevas in February in Rio de Janeiro in a clay-court event to set up a third-round match against Croatia’s Borna Coric, a 7-6 (2), 4-6, 7-6 (6) victor over 14th-seeded Nick Kyrgios of Australia.

“I am here to try my best and I am here to play at the highest level that I could. So I’m very happy”.

The tournament is missing both defending champions and several other top players because of injuries and the strain of playing in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, where the final tennis medals were awarded on Sunday.

Third-seeded Simona Halep advanced to third round of the Western & Southern Open with a 6-3, 6-1 win over qualifier Annika Beck on Wednesday.

In the women’s draw, Karolina Pliskova became the first woman to reach the quarterfinals.

Johnson beat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-3, 7-6 (6) and raised his index finger in celebration. Doi was a “lucky loser” who replaced defending champion Serena Williams when she withdrew with an inflamed shoulder on Monday. Williams has been in the top spot for 183 consecutive weeks. “Still, it’s for me still a long, long way to get there”.

The third seed was beaten by Uruguayan Cuevas when they last met – on the Rio clay in February – but won through in one hour and 30 minutes.

“In Mallorca I have had five weeks, nearly six weeks with the wrist immobilised. Now I’m more relaxed and I’m looking already forward to the next one”. All eight winners played second matches in the evening.