World number three Aryna Sabalenka thrust herself into US Open title contention on Monday with a 6-3, 7-5 defeat of Jessica Pegula to win the 15th title of her career at the Cincinnati Open.

The third seed – who missed Wimbledon with a shoulder injury – won a trophy for the first time since collecting her second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open in January.

"I'm super happy with the level I played in the final and that I was able to get this title. It's really important going into the US Open," Sabalenka said. "I'm sure Jess and I will have more battles in the future – let's keep it up."

Meanwhile, in the men's draw, world number one Jannik Sinner defeated Frances Tiafoe in straight sets to secure his maiden Cincinnati Open championship.

Sinner claimed his fifth victory of the season in emphatic style, swatting aside Tiafoe 7-6 (7/4), 6-2 in 1hr 36min to underscore his credentials for next Monday's US Open.

The Italian top seed bided his time in the first set before breaking the match open in the second.

Tiafoe, whose game faded after losing the first-set tiebreaker, still made an impression. The American, who moves into the ranking top-20, saved three match points before Sinner claimed his 15th career title.

Cincinnati is the fifth trophy of 2024 for the 23-year-old Italian, who began the season with an Australian Open title.

"I'm happy, this was a very difficult week," Sinner said. "It was tough mentally but I tried to do my best. I'm just glad I kept my level in the important moments. I handled the situations on court well."

The win was Sinner's third in an ATP Masters event after previous victories in Toronto and Miami. (AFP)