Tirante edges Choinski in three tiebreaks in Cincinnati opener

Thiago Tirante came through one of the tightest possible openers at the Cincinnati Masters 1000, beating Britain's Jan Choinski 7-6 6-7 7-6 in a first-round match decided entirely by tiebreaks. Serve dominated throughout: Tirante struck 20 aces to Choinski's 14 and won 78% of his first-serve points, enough to offset a modest 50% first-serve rate. Choinski was the steadier deliverer, landing 65.3% of first serves, but his 71.6% and 62.8% returns on first and second serve left him just short in the decisive moments. Tirante's four double faults never proved costly, and the Argentine advanced past the round of 128.