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Denis Shapovalov brushed aside any concerns from his Montreal foot injury with a commanding 6-1, 6-4 win over Adrian Mannarino at the Cincinnati Open, setting up a second-round clash with 12th seed Rafael Jodar. Martin Landaluce stunned Jack Draper in a dramatic comeback win, while Thiago Tirante’s marathon three-tiebreak victory earned him a date with three-time champion Novak Djokovic on a rain-disrupted opening day.
Denis Shapovalov’s week in Montreal ended in a first-round retirement with a foot problem that looked, at the time, like trouble heading into the North American hardcourt swing’s biggest remaining test. On Thursday at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, there was no sign of it. The Canadian dismantled Adrian Mannarino in straight sets and now faces in-form Rafael Jodar for a place in the third round — while, elsewhere in the draw, Thiago Tirante’s marathon three-tiebreak win earned him the daunting assignment of facing three-time Cincinnati champion Novak Djokovic.
Mason, Ohio: The 2026 Cincinnati Open opened under grey skies and intermittent rain on Thursday, with all 32 seeds handed first-round byes and the tournament’s opening card instead delivering upsets, farewells and a handful of statement performances from players looking to build momentum heading into the US Open. None was more encouraging than Shapovalov’s.
Shapovalov Books His Toughest Test Yet
There was little in Shapovalov’s performance against Mannarino to suggest a player nursing an injury scare. He broke early, dictated exchanges from the baseline with the aggressive, first-strike tennis that has always been his calling card, and raced through the opening set 6-1 in barely half an hour. Mannarino, playing in his 12th Cincinnati main draw without ever going beyond the quarterfinals, found some rhythm in the second set — breaking Shapovalov to lead 4-1 — but the Canadian responded immediately, winning the next three games to level at 4-4 before closing out the match 6-4.
It was, by any measure, one of the day’s most convincing performances. And it sets up a second-round assignment against 12th seed Rafael Jodar, fresh off his run to the Montreal semi-finals — arguably the form player of the North American hardcourt swing not named Zverev. Shapovalov reached the Los Cabos final in the buildup to this swing and looked in career-best hardcourt form before his Montreal foot issue intervened. On the evidence of Thursday, that form has travelled with him to Ohio intact.
Landaluce Stuns Draper in a Match That Got Away From Him
The day’s headline upset belonged to Martin Landaluce, the 20-year-old Spaniard who defeated former world No. 4 Jack Draper 6-3, 7-5 in a match that swung dramatically in the second set. Draper — playing his first match since a tearful, injury-hit return to the tour the previous week — had led 5-2 in the second set and looked set to force a decider. Landaluce saved six set points across the next three games, and Draper’s level then deserted him completely: 12 double faults and nearly 50 unforced errors told the story of a player still short of match fitness and rhythm.
“I think the important thing today was believing in my shots, believing in my game,” Landaluce said afterwards. “I did some big misses at times but that’s okay, because it is how I enjoy playing. At the end of the match I made some big shots and I really like playing like that.” The win continues the young Spaniard’s rise on the Masters 1000 stage and extends a miserable run for Draper, who has struggled to rediscover consistency since his lengthy injury lay-off.
Monfils’ Cincinnati Farewell Ends in Defeat
There was real emotion attached to Gael Monfils’ first-round match against wildcard Rinky Hijikata — the Frenchman’s 14th and final Cincinnati appearance, arriving in a season in which he has confirmed his intention to retire. For a set, it looked like Monfils might sign off with one more victory in front of a crowd that has adored him for over two decades: he took the opener 6-2, breaking Hijikata twice as the Australian struggled with his radar early on.
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Hijikata responded. He leveled the match by taking the second set in a tiebreak, then made the decisive move in the third, refusing to let Monfils back into the contest and closing out a 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-3 win. Tournament organisers paid tribute to Monfils after the match, honouring more than 20 years of appearances at an event where he has long been one of the most popular figures on the entertainment circuit. Hijikata, playing his first main-draw Cincinnati campaign on a wildcard, advances to the second round.
Elsewhere on Day One
Cameron Norrie battled through a tricky opener against Croatia’s Dino Prizmic, dropping the first set 3-6 before wearing his opponent down in Cincinnati’s heavy, humid conditions to close it out 6-1, 6-4. Fresh off a fourth-round run in Montreal and admittedly short of full physical sharpness, Norrie’s win sets up a second-round meeting with top seed Alexander Zverev — a fixture in which the German holds an imposing 7-0 tour-level head-to-head advantage.
Thiago AgustÃn Tirante survived one of the matches of the day, defeating Jan Choinski in a match that required three tiebreaks — missing a match point in the second-set breaker before recovering from 1-4 down in the deciding tiebreak to reel off seven consecutive points and complete a 7-6(9), 6-7(7), 7-6(4) win. Continuing a strong North American hardcourt run that has already produced a first-ever ATP 1000 fourth-round berth at the National Bank Open, Tirante’s reward is about as tough as it gets: a second-round meeting with three-time Cincinnati champion Novak Djokovic.
Miomir Kecmanovic eased past Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-3, 6-3 to earn his first Cincinnati main-draw win since 2022, setting up a second-round meeting with seventh seed Flavio Cobolli. Mariano Navone defeated Belgium’s Raphael Collignon 6-3, 7-6(3) to claim his first-ever main draw win at the event, and Jan-Lennard Struff came through a three-set battle against Roman Burruchaga 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3 for his first ATP 1000 win since May’s Italian Open.
Rain disrupted the schedule for long stretches of the afternoon, pushing several matches — including the marquee Monfils-Hijikata night session clash — back significantly and testing the patience of a crowd that had turned out in numbers for the tournament’s opening day.
Day 1 Results — Cincinnati Open 2026 (Men’s): D. Shapovalov def. A. Mannarino 6-1, 6-4; M. Landaluce def. J. Draper 6-3, 7-5; R. Hijikata def. G. Monfils 2-6, 7-6(5), 6-3; C. Norrie def. D. Prizmic 3-6, 6-1, 6-4; T. Tirante def. J. Choinski 7-6(9), 6-7(7), 7-6(4); M. Kecmanovic def. C. Ugo Carabelli 6-3, 6-3; M. Navone def. R. Collignon 6-3, 7-6(3); J-L. Struff def. R. Burruchaga 7-6(4), 2-6, 6-3; T. Atmane def. M. Fucsovics 3-1 RET
Second-round matchups confirmed: D. Shapovalov vs [12] R. Jodar C. Norrie vs [1] A. Zverev (Zverev leads H2H 7-0) T. Tirante vs [3] N. Djokovic M. Kecmanovic vs [7] F. Cobolli
Venue: Lindner Family Tennis Center, Mason, Ohio
Tournament dates: August 13–23, 2026 | Prize money: $9,415,725
