Fritz also advanced in an all-American clash with Alex Michelsen, overcoming an inconsistent serving day with superior firepower from the baseline. Elsewhere, Lorenzo Musetti continued his strong return to form with a convincing win, while Ben Shelton suffered an early upset against Jaime Faria in his first match as the Canadian Open champion.
Medvedev rallies past Trungelliti
Marco Trungelliti 4-6, 5-7 Daniil Medvedev
Daniil Medvedev advanced to the next round in Cincinnati after overcoming a strong start from Marco Trungelliti and closing out a 6-4, 7-5 victory. The fourth seed controlled much of the opening set, eventually finding the decisive breakthrough late and keeping Trungelliti from creating enough pressure on his serve to turn the set around.
The Argentine made a much stronger start to the second set, breaking early and building a 3-0 advantage. Trungelliti looked capable of forcing a decider as he moved closer to the finish line, but Medvedev gradually turned the momentum around.
The Russian saved two set points before leveling at 5-5, then took control of the closing stages and won five consecutive games across the end of the match to complete the comeback. Medvedev will face Brandon Nakashima in the next round.
Auger-Aliassime sends Tsitsipas packing
Stefanos Tsitsipas 3-6, 5-7 Felix Auger-Aliassime
Felix Auger-Aliassime produced a composed performance to defeat Stefanos Tsitsipas in straight sets and advance in Cincinnati. The Canadian made the ideal start, breaking immediately and moving ahead 3-0 before settling into the match. He remained extremely solid behind his serve throughout the opening set, never allowing Tsitsipas a break opportunity as he protected his advantage to take it 6-3.
The second set was considerably more competitive, with both players struggling to maintain the same level of security on serve. Auger-Aliassime twice moved ahead by a break, only for Tsitsipas to respond and keep himself alive.
Even when the Canadian led 5-2, the Greek managed to fight back and threaten another turnaround, but Auger-Aliassime held his nerve late and secured the decisive break to close out the match 7-5. His reward is a meeting with Juan Manuel Cerundolo in the next round.
Fritz wins all-American battle
Taylor Fritz 6-3, 6-4 Alex Michelsen
Taylor Fritz came through an all-American battle with Alex Michelsen, advancing in straight sets despite an unconvincing day on serve. The No. 6 seed landed just 54% of his first serves and committed six double faults, but compensated with greater efficiency when points became important and consistently found ways to put pressure on Michelsen's delivery.
Fritz converted three of six break opportunities, compared with just one break from two chances for Michelsen. The two players were almost identical in terms of unforced errors, with Fritz committing 30 to Michelsen's 31, but the difference came from the American's ability to produce winners. Fritz struck 25 winners compared with just 13 from his opponent, giving him the additional firepower needed to secure the 6-3, 6-4 victory. Fritz will face Daniel Merida in the next round.
Faria shocks defending champion Shelton
Ben Shelton 4-6, 4-6 Jaime Faria
Ben Shelton's Cincinnati campaign ended at the first hurdle as the defending Canadian Open champion suffered a straight-set defeat to Jaime Faria. Shelton arrived with significant momentum after his title run in Montreal, but the American was unable to reproduce that level in his Cincinnati opener.
Faria took advantage of the opportunity to claim one of the biggest wins of his career, eliminating Shelton in straight sets and sending the defending champion out immediately after his breakthrough run in Canada.
Musetti cruises past Altmaier
Daniel Altmaier 4-6, 2-6 Lorenzo Musetti
Lorenzo Musetti made a convincing start to his Cincinnati campaign with a comfortable straight-set victory over Daniel Altmaier. The Italian immediately applied pressure on the German's serve, securing the first break to move ahead early. Altmaier managed to respond and level at 3-3, but the recovery was short-lived as Musetti broke straight back and quickly restored his advantage.
Once Musetti secured the opening set, the match became increasingly one-sided. The Italian combined strong first serves with consistent baseline pressure and earned an early break in the second set to take control. A second break at 5-2 effectively ended Altmaier's resistance, allowing Musetti to close out a straightforward victory. Musetti will face Michael Zheng in the next round.