Cincinnati reaches its peak: Sinner faces an underdog challenge, and the meeting with Alcaraz is in doubt.

The Cincinnati Masters has entered its final climax. In the upper half's quarterfinal, Sinner faced the former benchmark of the post-00s, Auger-Aliassime. Having never won against the Canadian before, he ultimately triumphed over his opponent, allowing him to win only two games across both sets, and advanced to the semifinals of the Masters again.

In another match, the underdog player Arnaldi continued his impressive performance, defeating last year's semifinalist Rune decisively, following his victory over Fritz, and once again taking down a top ten player. To defeat two top ten players in a single Masters event as a qualifier is quite a rare feat in the open era.

According to previous trends, in all Masters events this year, any player who has defeated Fritz has ultimately reached the finals of that tournament. It seems that even the world number one Sinner must be fully alert when facing such a formidable underdog.

The quarterfinals are spread over two days, with the matches in the lower half taking place early tomorrow morning. The specific matchups are as follows:

Alcaraz vs. Rublev

This is a rematch after more than a year; their last encounter at a Masters event was in Madrid last year, where Rublev defeated the previous two-time champion Alcaraz, which is quite reassuring. Making it to the quarterfinals this time is one of his few achievements this year.

As the best performance among the four hard court Masters events in the second half of the year, Alcaraz is naturally aiming for the championship. Facing the resurgent Rublev, who is also a former runner-up, the Spaniard has a greater chance of victory.

Shelton vs. Zverev

Shelton's ranking is now close to the top five in the world. After winning the Canadian Masters last week, he has surpassed Djokovic, ranking sixth, which is his highest position. This match against Zverev serves as a test to see if he can challenge Alcaraz and Sinner. They have faced each other three times before, with Shelton yet to win a match.

In this year's three Grand Slams, both Sinner and Alcaraz have become obstacles for Shelton, which also indirectly indicates the stability of Shelton's current performance. Who will challenge the third level of Alcaraz and Sinner? The name Rune has been mentioned before, followed by others like Moutet and Draper. Based on the current form, Shelton is indeed up to the task.

Theoretically, a meeting between Alcaraz and former champion Zverev is naturally what everyone expects. Who will emerge victorious? Let's wait and see!(Source: Tennis Home, Author: Luo Cheng Qiye)