Flavio Cobolli defeated Rafael Jodar 4-6, 7-6(7/3), 6-3 to reach the Cincinnati Open quarter-finals on August 19, overcoming Jodar in a match lasting two and a half hours before rain halted afternoon play [1, 2, 3, 4]. Cobolli, seeded seventh, secured his second Masters quarter-final of 2026 after Madrid and won his third consecutive three-set match at Cincinnati. He said, "At the end of the second set and start of the third I told myself to believe, try on every point. I knew I had a chance. Rafa has had an unbelievable season but maybe he was a bit tired. At the end I deserved to win as I was fresher than him. I pushed to my limit to get through. Sometimes I have to remind myself that I’m really strong" [1].

Cobolli’s win stopped 19-year-old Jodar, currently No. 11 in the world, from reaching what would have been his eighth quarter-final in nine events this year. Jodar has risen from No. 165 in January to No. 11 following multiple titles and a French Open quarter-final appearance [1, 5, 2, 3, 4].

Tommy Paul advanced to the quarter-finals after saving a match point to beat top seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 7-6, 6-4 in a match interrupted by a 90-minute rain delay and additional pauses [6, 7, 4]. Zverev, ranked world No. 3, took the first set and led in the second before the rain delay. Paul came back after the break, changing tactics and winning the last two sets. Paul said, "I’m not sure how I did it. I put some returns in, he gave me some looks at second serves and he threw in a few doubles (faults). That always helps a ton. I went after the ball a bit more, I was having fun out there. I hope I can keep building on this and peak at the US Open" [4].

Paul will face Cobolli in the Cincinnati quarter-finals [6, 7, 4].

Meanwhile, 50th-ranked Thiago Tirante continued his surprise run by defeating Jakub Mensik 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 to reach his first Masters quarter-final [1, 2, 3, 4]. Arthur Fils also advanced by beating fifth seed Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 [4].

On the women’s side, defending Cincinnati champion Iga Swiatek reached her fourth consecutive quarter-final by defeating Diane Parry 6-3, 6-3. Swiatek needed four match points to close out the win and commented, "I was solid, even if I had to put more energy into my shots since she was hitting so much slice. I played well from beginning to end. My focus is on the match and not the statistics" [1, 2, 3, 4].