Brandon Nakashima Upsets Fritz at Cincinnati

Brandon Nakashima beat sixth-seeded Taylor Fritz 7-6 (11-9), 4-6, 6-3 on Friday to reach the Cincinnati Open semifinals, AFP reported. It is his best run in Mason. It is also the first time an American man has reached the semifinals in both Canada and Cincinnati in the same year since 2011. The US Open starts in a little more than a week. The hard-court summer just became a problem for everyone else in that half.

Nakashima withstood 22 aces. Fritz piled up 31 unforced errors, AFP said. Sofascore put the first set in a serve box: no break points for either man, a marathon tiebreak, and 14 of Fritz's aces in that opener alone. Nakashima still took it 11-9. Fritz won the second 6-4. In the third, Nakashima dropped a break, broke back to 3-3, broke again for 5-3, and converted his first match point with a forehand winner.

Brandon Nakashima vs Taylor Fritz: the summer rematch

They had just played. AFP noted Nakashima's post-Wimbledon run: a Washington semifinal he lost to Fritz, a Montreal final, and now Cincinnati. "Today I was trying to hit bigger against him than in Washington; that's what got me through," Nakashima said, per AFP. "I've gotten a lot of confidence over the summer. In the final set, I trusted my game; I'm proud with how I ended the match."

Sofascore called it a serve-first quarterfinal on P&G Stadium Court that still ended with the same number of total points. The No. 27 seed just found the bigger ones. Fritz is the Washington champion and a top-10 server. Twenty-two aces is a beating on paper. Thirty-one errors is how you lose the paper. Nakashima did not need to match the first-strike heat. He needed to keep putting returns in play until Fritz missed, then hit through the court when the third set opened up.

What the Cincinnati semifinal means before the US Open

"I've had a pretty good last few weeks; I've spent hours and hours on the court — I'm proud of myself," Nakashima said. "I now have the opportunity to win more matches." AFP logged that as the sound of a player who has stopped treating Masters 1000 weeks like a warm-up. Montreal finalist. Cincinnati semifinalist. First American man to do both in the same year since 2011. That is a US Open seed talking, whether the draw has caught up yet or not.

The rest of Cincinnati already went sideways. Aryna Sabalenka and Alexander Zverev were both dumped in the fourth round. Elena Rybakina's ankle ended her quarterfinal. Nakashima is the American still standing on the men's side of a messy week. Fritz had never been past the Cincinnati quarterfinals in eight trips, the previews said. He still hasn't. Nakashima has.

Brandon Nakashima Cincinnati FAQ

Did Brandon Nakashima beat Taylor Fritz in Cincinnati? Yes. AFP reported a 7-6 (11-9), 4-6, 6-3 quarterfinal win Friday. Sofascore listed the same score as 7-6(11), 4-6, 6-3.

How many aces did Taylor Fritz hit against Nakashima? Twenty-two, AFP said, with 31 unforced errors. Sofascore noted 14 of those aces came in the first set, which still went to Nakashima in a tiebreak.

Why is Brandon Nakashima's Cincinnati run historic? AFP reported he is the first American man since 2011 to reach the semifinals of both the Canadian Open and Cincinnati in the same year, after a Washington semifinal and a Montreal final this summer.