Jannik Sinner beat Daniel Elahi Galan in the opening round of Cincinnati Open
Sinner triumphed 6-1 6-1 on his return to action since Wimbledon triumph
Sinner is the defending champion in Cincinnati
Jannik Sinner began his defence of the Cincinnati Open title with a 59-minute victory over Daniel Elahi Galan, his quickest win of the year.
Sinner triumphed 6-1 6-1 on his return to action after skipping the Canadian Open to recover from the elbow injury he suffered en route to his first Wimbledon triumph in July.
The world number one wore a protective sleeve on his right arm throughout Saturday's second-round match, but he was not slowed down by the injury in a ruthless performance.
Sinner won the first five games of the opening set, which was in the books within 27 minutes, and though Galan held to get into the second set at 2-1, two further breaks did for the Colombian's chances.
"Matches are always different to practice sessions, so I didn't know exactly what to expect today," Sinner said afterwards.
"I'm very happy. It's not easy to play here, the ball is flying. You have to serve very precisely but also with good pace, if you want to go far in the tournament."
Casper Ruud could not avoid an upset, losing 6-7 (5-7) 6-4 6-2 to Arthur Rinderknech. Nineteenth seed Tomas Machac was also dumped out by a Frenchman, going down 6-3 6-3 against Adrian Mannarino.
The French success continued with Benjamin Bonzi recovering from a set down to oust eighth seed Lorenzo Musetti, but Holger Rune and Tommy Paul advanced.
Seventh seed Rune overcame Roman Safiullin 7-5 7-6 (7-5), while 13th seed Paul was a 6-2 6-2 victor against Spain's Pedro Martinez.
Data Debrief: Sinner's remarkable hard-court record
Sinner is now 38-0 against players ranked outside the ATP's top 50 since the Cincinnati Open in 2023, when he was eliminated by qualifier Dusan Lajovic.
The Italian has also won 22 hard-court matches in a row since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in Beijing last September, as he bids to become the first back-to-back men's singles champion in Cincinnati since Roger Federer in 2014 and 2015.
