Cincinnati Open: Williams sisters fall in doubles while Zverev advances

What the report says

Alexander Zverev moved into the fourth round at the Cincinnati Open on Monday after a tight straight-sets win over Terrance Atmane, with both sets decided in tiebreaks. The Al Jazeera report says the top seed had to work hard against the French player before closing out the match with a decisive backhand winner. The result continued a strong season for Zverev and kept him in contention in the ATP-WTA Masters event.

The same day also brought a headline doubles reunion for Serena and Venus Williams, who played together for the first time since the 2022 US Open. The sisters, two of the most decorated doubles teams in tennis history, lost their opening match to Payton Stearns of the United States and Marta Kostyuk of Ukraine in three sets. Serena said the appearance was meant to be enjoyable rather than a title push, while the report noted the pair showed rust early before responding in the second set.

Al Jazeera also reported wins for several other players in a rain-disrupted day in Cincinnati, including Alex de Minaur, Arthur Fils, Elena Rybakina, Iga Swiatek and Jessica Pegula. The broader context is that the tournament is a key hard-court warm-up ahead of the US Open, so results this week can shape momentum and rankings going into the season’s final Grand Slam.