This Writer's Experience at The Cincinnati Open
By Daniel J. Schwartz
It may be peculiar that I’m writing about a sporting event I attended in Cincinnati for a Detroit Sports Today entry, but life is unpredictable and so is this blog.
I decided to make a four-hour drive to the Cincinnati Open, the annual summer tennis tournament taking place at the Lindner Family Tennis Center in the Cincy suburb of Mason, Ohio.
I’ve been following tennis for years, but this was my first time attending a professional tennis event. I specifically attended the morning session on Thursday, Aug. 14, and saw two of the best players in the world.
The first match was the No. 2 women’s tennis player in the world and 2023 Cincinnati Open winner Coco Gauff, taking on Lucia Bronzetti of Italy.
I didn’t need the public address announcer or any LED screens around the stadium to tell me Bronzetti is Italian, I could figure it out from her camp/coach/family shouting “FORZA! FORZA!” (Italian word for force, or power, used in this context like “come on!” or “you can do it!”) right behind me every two minutes.
Anyway, as far as the actual match, this wasn’t Gauff’s best performance, as weird as that is to say about someone who won the match in straight sets. She looked to be frustrated with her play on more than one occasion, but as simple as it is to say, her natural talent won out. Outside of Bronzetti’s cheerleaders, the majority of the American crowd loved their American star, which seemed to help Gauff get over a hump or two.
There was an epic rally in the second set (when it was tied 2-2, 40-40) during a seemingly never-ending game that Gauff ended up winning. That crucial decider helped Gauff eventually win the match as a whole 6-2, 6-4.
“It’s super special to play on this court again, I have special memories from 2023,” Gauff said in the post-match interview. “I played aggressive, but maybe got a little bit passive in some of those games… for the most part I think I did well, and yeah I had chances in a couple of those games and I missed a couple balls but I learned from it and was able to close it out.”
The 2025 French Open winner finished with 23 winners to Bronzetti’s seven, and six aces to Bronzetti’s two.
Gauff will be taking on another Italian, Jasmine Paolini, in the quarterfinal stage. The match takes place on Friday night.
The other match I saw was men’s world No. 1 and defending Cincinnati Open champ Jannik Sinner of Italy taking on Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada. This was a rout from start to finish, as Sinner easily beat “FAA” 6-0, 6-2 to reach the semifinals in Cincinnati.
Sinner completed a “bagel” in the first set in only 27 minutes. Now on 11 consecutive wins, he is no doubt the best tennis player in the world right now as we sit one day before his 24th birthday.
Sinner will be taking on Terence Atmane of France in the semifinal stage. That match takes place Saturday.
Overall, the Cincinnati Open was a highly enjoyable first live tennis experience. It was extremely hot, but free towels were provided, cold beverages were available all around the tennis center and the staff was extremely helpful and available. I’d highly recommend attending the Cincinnati Open if you’re anywhere close to it. It’s definitely something I’d be interested in attending again.