Nakashima stuns Fritz to reach Cincinnati Masters semi-finals

Brandon Nakashima continued his impressive run on hard courts Friday, upsetting sixth-seeded compatriot Taylor Fritz 7-6 (11/9), 4-6, 6-3 to reach the Cincinnati Masters semi-finals.

CINCINNATI: Brandon Nakashima continued his impressive run on hard courts Friday, upsetting sixth-seeded compatriot Taylor Fritz 7-6 (11/9), 4-6, 6-3 to reach the Cincinnati Masters semi-finals.

Nakashima will face Frances Tiafoe in an all-American semi-final after Tiafoe defeated Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 7-6 (7/2), 7-5.

Nakashima began his post-Wimbledon hard-court campaign with a semi-final appearance in Washington, where he lost to Fritz, before reaching the final of the Montreal Masters. He has now recorded his best-ever result in Cincinnati, with the US Open scheduled to begin in little more than a week.

The 24-year-old withstood 22 aces from Fritz, who also committed 31 unforced errors.

Nakashima trailed by a break in the deciding set but immediately fought back to level at 3-3. He then broke again for a 5-3 lead, out-hitting the powerful Fritz before converting his first match point with a forehand winner.

“I’ve gotten a lot of confidence over the summer,” Nakashima said. “In the final set I trusted my game. I’m proud with how I ended the match.”

Tiafoe needed four match points to defeat Musetti in a tightly contested encounter.

“He’s a hell of a player, he makes you beat him — and that’s what I did,” Tiafoe said. “Each match is its own story. I just go out and compete as hard as I can.”

In the women’s draw, Czech 20-year-old Sara Bejlek followed up her stunning victory over world number one Aryna Sabalenka with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) quarter-final win over Madison Keys.

Bejlek will meet fourth-seeded American Coco Gauff in the semi-finals. Gauff advanced with a commanding 6-2, 6-2 victory over 10th-seeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.

Bejlek started slowly against Keys, a former Australian Open champion and 2019 Cincinnati winner. She trailed 0-3 before dropping the opening set but gradually turned the match around.

The Czech broke first in the deciding set, only for Keys to fight back and force a tie-break. Bejlek rallied from 4-2 down before sealing victory with a powerful winner down the line on match point.

“I just kept believing in the match no matter what,” said Bejlek, who won her first WTA title in Abu Dhabi in February as a qualifier.

“I believed much more than ever, it was always in my head,” she added.

Gauff was in control from the start against Kostyuk, breaking the Ukrainian six times in a match that lasted 70 minutes.

Kostyuk, who had been 5-0 in quarter-finals this year, managed one break in each set, but Gauff quickly regained control. The American lost just five points behind her first serve.

“Every match is getting better for me,” Gauff said. “I’m being more decisive, my serve is improving and it is getting more and more rare for me to be broken.”

Gauff expects a tough challenge against Bejlek.

“Sara is a great player,” she said. “I watched her win the title in Abu Dhabi. She’s so athletic and fast, but she makes you earn every point.”