Tennis Tour Spotlight: Closing out Cincy

It's been two weeks of summer fun at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in Mason, Ohio, and 300,000 fans from across the globe came to the Cincinnati suburb to see world-class tennis action, featuring stacked draws on both the men's and women's sides as players get used to the hot, hardcourt conditions before the US Open begins next week. With both Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz out due to injury, there was more opportunities for other players to stir themselves into the mix, and that they did with an unexpected champion walking away with the silverware. Meanwhile, a small army of twelve American women came to take over the draw, and the eventual all-American final delighted fans as a winner was crowned on home turf. Let's dig right in...

Fils Finds Form, Dispatches Tiafoe in Topsy-Turvy Final

It's been a turbulent flight for Arthur Fils over the past few years. A stress fracture in his back in 2025 sidelined him for much of the season. Just when he was regaining his momentum this spring with a title in Barcelona, a hip injury thrust him out of Roland Garros. After returning for Wimbledon, he suffered a few early-round losses to kick off his summer. Weeks ago in Canada, he made a statement with a quarterfinal appearance. But it wasn't until he arrived in Cincinnati that things truly got going for the Frenchman. 

After sending Yannick Hanfmann packing in the first round, he faced an immediate test: the inconsistent 9th seed, Jiri Lehecka. Despite his solid all-around game, one never quite knows what the Czech will pull out of his hat. It didn't look like it'd be his day after Fils sprung into the first set, and won it, 6-1. Just as Lehecka's serve numbers skyrocketed in the second set, so did his performance. The two men held even through a tiebreak, which Lehecka clinched, nine to seven in points. When the night crowd roared, Fils responded. Lehecka, meanwhile, was edgy, and he quickly lost serve. Fils took the third, 6-3, punching a ticket to the third round. 

Despite being a low-chance underdog, Fils showed up to fight against 5th seed Alex de Minaur. With the serve holding steady and the forehand rocketing, the Frenchman carefully moved de Minaur around the court, looking for sharp angles to take the early edge in points, while exhausting the Australian as he scrambled to keep up. It wasn't that complicated: Fils outplayed and overpowered him, 6-3, 6-4. 

Above: A look back at Arthur Fils at the Miami Open. Photo credit: Isabella Forcella.

The quarterfinals were a piece of cake, with the 21st seed shutting out unseeded clay-court comfy Thiago Austin Tirante in two sets. But before he could get too excited, he'd have to play through 7th seed Flavio Cobolli. Cobolli, the Roland Garros finalist, has played five tournaments since his fairy-tale run. Three of them have ended in first-round losses. And while he was resurgent this week with big wins against Rafa Jodar and Tommy Paul, that momentum was cut short by Fils, who combined exceptional movement with a smart strategy for a 6-3, 6-4 victory. Cobolli didn't throw much at him---he stayed behind the baseline, sending Fils heavy-spin rally balls. Fils stepped up early, using the extra time to get the ball around to his forehand as much as possible before pulling the trigger. It worked the whole time. For Cobolli to firmly establish himself as a top-ten presence, he'll need to find a "plan b" when things aren't going well, or at least be less sluggish and more pesky if he choses to be impotent with his shotmaking. 

While Fils was looking deadly good heading into the final, he had tough contention waiting on the other side of the net. While the Frenchman had been surfing the waving crowd all week long, he wouldn't be the favorite in this one. Instead, he'd be downgraded as another flashy shotmaker, who happened to be American, too, won over the audience's approval. Enter Frances Tiafoe. 

Tiafoe had seen what would happen when other guys slacked off against Fils. Fils can take time away, quick. Tiafoe wouldn't have to play the aggressor. He just needed to make returns, keep the ball deep in the court, and as much as possible, steer it away from his opponent's forehand. 

But Fils was on fire. Even though Tiafoe did an excellent job of placing the ball close to the baseline, Fils found way to work around it, and send it full speed past a sprinting Tiafoe. He ran away with the first set, 6-3. It wasn't until the second set that Tiafoe's strategy started to pay off. He really began to sink his teeth into rallies, running for everything. Even if it meant sending a 10 mile-per-hour slice back from a full on splits, it meant one more ball in the court. And without a little power bouncing off his strings, Fils began to miss. Down 0-1, he let his service game go. All of a sudden, the forehand that looked like it could never miss began to be sent flying past the baseline, or rocketing into the stands, or plunked in the bottom of the net. A second break flew by, and Tiafoe forced a third, 6-1. Things were getting dicy. 

For Fils to win the third, he'd have to make some adjustments. With the forehand failing, he would need to take the speed off of it slightly, at least until he got back in a groove. He'd have to be more consistent all around, and put Tiafoe in odd spots. He'd have to take advantage of Tiafoe's short backswings, and put the ball in places the American would least expect. The ball off the forehand, which in the first set which was comparable to a bullet out of a gun, turned into a high, looping swing which pushed Tiafoe back. He incorporated the slice more. He drew Tiafoe in, and punished him with lobs. While it wasn't a satisfying route to victory, it sure was a successful one scoreline-wise, with the 21st seed winning the final set, 6-0. And in the end of the day, that's all the really matters. 

With Sinner out of New York, Djokovic inconsistent, Zverev suffering early round losses, and Alcaraz just returning after months away from competition, Fils will certainly have an opportunity to show what he's made of as it all goes down in the Big Apple. 

Gauff's Cincinnati Victory: Déjà Vu?

It was in 2023 that Coco Gauff finally found a new side of her game with legendary coach Brad Gilbert in her box, and that was right her in Cincinnati. Lacking the consistency to always play fast, she needed an alternative solution for when things weren't clicking. That style, coined "winning ugly" by Gilbert, is what led her to the crown in Mason as well as her first grand slam weeks later in New York. Three years on, she returned to Ohio and came up with the goods to win the tournament a second time. But this year, she didn't have to rely so much on chasing down every shot, and making defense her strong suit. She went out there to play, and to finish points at her pleasing. With three years of technical development under her belt, she's starting to look like a new kind of Coco. Let's go over her tournament. 

Surprisingly, things didn't get off to a great start for the home favorite. Taking on Liudmila Samsonova in the opening round, she had a tough test ahead of her. Samsonova, who was unseeded, can be a tricky opponent if she's playing well. And the conditions helped too: as the match was scheduled for the night, the slightly cooler temperatures allowed Samsonova's ball to glide through the court and upped the speed of play slightly, allowing her to offensively dominate rallies. Off of every shot in the first set, she sent a firing one back. She outplayed Gauff, and won it with ease, 6-2. Things weren't great in the second set either, with Gauff barely scraping by on her service games as Samsonova still remained in the driver's seat.

Above: A look at Delray Beach based superstar Coco Gauff. Photo credit: New Balance.

But soon, she started to swing. She redirected the pace of Samsonova's shots. She ran for open-stance groundstrokes to find the angles as Samsonova charged the net. Leading 5-4, she took advantage of a few loose errors and played some brilliant points to win the second, 6-4. Her third set strategy was a simple formula: play as offensively as possible, and look for the perfect early opportunity to move in the court. And when she couldn't, go for bigger targets. Keep the ball deep. Don't let the already ailing Samsonova work her way back into first set level. The results came, break after break. And with a roar, Gauff took a much-needed baby step as she began to progress. 

Next up was another American, 28th seed Ann Li. She didn't have the game to do what Samsonova did. Gauff outpowered her, 6-1, 7-6, with a point score of seven to three in the tiebreak. The same thing happened against 22nd seed Marie Bouzková. 6-3, 6-2. A player who could normally contest Gauff's onslaught of force with her own, Marta Kostyuk, fell victim to the coal-loaded steam engine of Coco's campaign, 6-2, 6-2. So did the intriguing 20-year-old, Sara Bejlek, who wasn't able to fire up the rocketing cross-court forehand which had worked for her all week. Gauff kept the ball away from that side, and won the first, 6-4, though she didn't excel offensively. But after an early break in the second, she began to send Bejlek all around with the backhand, dragging her from corner to corner as the Czech struggled to even catch her breath.

Gauff found ways to win at the net, as errors racked up for Bejlek. And shortly, she was on her way to the final after letting just one game go astray in the second set. Now it was time for the final test. 

Gauff's close friend and compatriot, Jessica Pegula, is precise when it comes to ball placement. She has a high tennis IQ, and relies more on balance and flat shots. She's not someone who's going to pull a whopper from the most the most awkward position on court. Considering this, one of the ways to beat her is by taking away time. Not letting her find the few seconds she needs to set up the perfect angle. Not letting her control the rallies with placement. Gauff is not always one to overpower, but a straightforward way to victory would require some hard hitting. 

Gauff played a beautiful match. She didn't rush to control points, instead tried to stay on the same plane with Pegula before she found a ball she liked. When she rushes to win, she makes errors. She too, needs time to find the perfect backhand down the line or a decent forehand put away to win the rally. She rose to a 5-0 lead, and did let a few games slip. Down set point at 2-5, Pegula had an easy forehand winner, but drew it wide. What would have been a miraculous comeback was shut down quickly with unfortunate errors. 

Starting in the second, Gauff began to move her opponent around more. She cut even more time away from her. While it wasn't as fast a way to win, it was a much more consistent one. Patience paid off, and Gauff won the second, 6-4. If this is anything like the last time she won Cincinnati, then she should book a hotel through the middle of September in New York. Considering rivals Iga Swiatek and Aryna Sabalenka just aren't in top form right now, it's safe to say that Coco Gauff has the edge heading into the US Open. 

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Written by Will Turvey. Source: Dove. Photo credit (top): Cincinnati Open.

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