What a racket 

The Western and Southern Open, played at the Billie Jean King National Tennis Centre in Flushing, is the oldest professional tennis tournament played in its city of origin, in the US. In fact, it was first played in 1899 and has been a fixture for almost a century – with the champions’ list including some of the sport’s biggest names. 

The tournament’s old age certainly doesn’t dampen the excitement. And this year has been no exception, with various thrilling games during the rounds and in the final stages. 

The top tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic secured a place in the quarterfinals of the tournament in Cincinnati with a victory over the American Tennis Sandgren, and for the placement among the four best, he was up against German Jan Leonard Struff, who is ranked 34th on the ATP list. Djokovic proceeded to beat Struff 6: 3, 6: 1, in less than an hour. 

There were plenty of surprises as well – as Serena Willians was sent crashing out of the tournament by Maria Sakkari, who beat the 23-times Grand Slam champion 5-7, 7-6 (5), 6-1 and reach the quarter-finals. Williams, 38, raced to a 5-2 in the opening set before Sakkari drew level but the American took an early advantage.