Zverev yet to win a match in four visits to Cincinnati; Novak Djokovic progresses to last-16 meeting with either defending champion Grigor Dimitrov or Mischa Zverev
Wednesday 15 August 2018 21:17, UK
Alexander Zverev crashed out of the Cincinnati Masters after a three-set defeat to unseeded Robin Haase in the second round.
The world No 4 was seeking to recover from his surprise defeat to Stefanos Tsitsipas in Toronto last week but was beaten 5-7 6-4 7-5 by the world No 55.
Zverev, who won in Washington earlier in the month, is yet to win a match from four visits to Cincinnati and the defeat acts as another blow to his US Open preparations.
The German, who labelled his performance against Tsitsipas as 'pathetic', led the head to head against his Dutch opponent 2-1 and appeared well placed to improve that record after edging an opening set which included four breaks of serve.
Haase responded by holding off a mini fightback in the second set from Zverev to force a decider which he won in battling fashion to secure a last-16 encounter with Pablo Carreno Busta.
Novak Djokovic continued his progress through the draw with a come-from-behind victory over Adrian Mannarino.
The Wimbledon champion defeated his French opponent 4-6 6-2 6-1 to set up a meeting with defending champion Grigor Dimitrov or unseeded Mischa Zverev.
Djokovic, who also lost to Tsitsipas in Toronto, hit five aces and broke his French opponent five times to maintain his hopes of winning the Cincinnati title for the first time in his career and completing the sweep of Masters 1000 titles.
Kevin Anderson continued his good form with a 7-6 (8-6) 6-2 victory over Jeremy Chardy and the Wimbledon finalist will next meet David Goffin after the Belgian overcame another Frenchman Benoit Paire 5-7 6-4 6-2.
Marin Cilic was pushed hard by Romanian qualifier Marius Copil before progressing 6-7 (4-7) 6-4 6-4.
There was also a 6-3 7-5 victory for Milos Raonic over lucky-loser Malek Jaziri as the Canadian booked an encounter with compatriot Denis Shapovalov.
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