Sinner swamps Auger-Aliassime in Cincinnati power display

Jannik Sinner "felt great on the court" as he annihilated Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-0, 6-2 on Thursday to reach the Cincinnati Open semifinals with his 25th straight hardcourt match victory.

The world No 1 powered through a rapid-fire opening set and overcame a wobble as he started the second set by dropping serve.

The defending champion prevailed in a brief 71 minutes as he claimed an eighth victory in a row at this event and his 30th this season.

"I felt great on the court today, you could see that," said the Italian, who turns 24 on Saturday. "But every day can be different. Let's see what I can do in the semis."

Sinner, playing his first tournament since his Wimbledon triumph, will face either French qualifier Terence Atmane or Danish seventh seed Holger Rune for a place in the final.

Auger-Aliassime meekly lost the opening set after less than 30 minutes, delivering three double-faults in the final game.

After dropping his serve early in the second Sinner broke back to level at 2-all, eventually advancing as Auger-Aliassime coughed up his eighth double fault on match point.

"I served well today, that was the key for me," Sinner said. "I had a small drop in the second set and I'm happy that I broke back. He moves and serves well, he's difficult to play."