CINCINNATI — Jannik Sinner and Aryna Sabalenka got their title defenses off to smooth starts as they powered into the third round of the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Open on Saturday (Sunday in Manila). The men’s and women’s top seeds,

Sinner crushed Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan 6-1, 6-1, while Sabalenka beat 2023 Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 7-5, 6-1. Read more at straitstimes.com. Read more at straitstimes.com.

The Cincinnati Open begins with more than $9 million in prize money for the men and over $5 million for the women. It will be the second combined WTA and ATP Masters 1000 event of the North American hardcourt swing,

Sabalenka, who had a first-round bye, had not played since her semi-final defeat at Wimbledon and said the downtime served her well as she mounted a tremendous defensive effort to set up a meeting with Briton Emma Raducanu.