Frances Tiafoe Cincinnati: Beats Musetti 7-6, 7-5

Frances Tiafoe Cincinnati is a 7-6(2), 7-5 win that needed four match points, and it sets up an all-American Saturday. No. 17 seed Frances Tiafoe beat No. 10 Lorenzo Musetti on Friday night in Mason, ESPN and Al Jazeera both had the score, and he will play Brandon Nakashima in the semifinals. It is the first time two U.S. men have reached the Cincinnati last four since Andy Roddick and Mardy Fish in 2010.

Rediff said Tiafoe needed more than two hours on a humid night, with thunderstorms nearby that never stopped play. Al Jazeera had him broken the first time he served for the match, then winning the next two games. "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."

Frances Tiafoe Cincinnati vs Musetti: four match points

Musetti broke early to lead 3-2. Tiafoe broke straight back in a marathon game to 3-3, Tennis Majors wrote, and they held to a tiebreak Tiafoe ran 7-2. The second set copied the first: Tiafoe broke to 5-3, Musetti broke back to 5-5, Tiafoe broke again and served it out 7-5. Tennis Now had the messy finish. Serving at 5-4, Tiafoe opened with a double fault, earned a match point, missed a two-hander, then got broken. He broke right back for 6-5. Musetti saved match points two and three. On No. 4, Tiafoe hit a slice serve down the T that Musetti could not return.

Rediff had Tiafoe with 18 winners and an unreturnable serve to close. Tennis Majors moved him to 4-3 in the Musetti series and 3-1 on hard courts. It is Tiafoe's third ATP Masters 1000 semifinal, after 2023 Indian Wells and 2024 Cincinnati, and his first at this level in two years. In 2024 he reached the Cincinnati final and lost to Jannik Sinner, still his deepest Masters run. He had a cyst removed from his racquet hand earlier this month, Tennis Now noted, and his Cincinnati status was briefly in doubt.

All-American SF vs Brandon Nakashima, first since 2010

Nakashima beat Taylor Fritz 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3, ESPN reported, the first American man to reach the Canada and Cincinnati semifinals in the same season since Fish in 2011. Nakashima is coached by Tiafoe's former coach, Wayne Ferreira. "It's a guy who knows me pretty well in Wayne," Tiafoe said, per ESPN. "I expect some good serving and all the best from him. Happy where I've been mentally more than anything. This has been a great week." Rediff listed Tiafoe ahead 6-1 in the career series. Tennis Tonic has their Saturday night slot on Stadium Court around 6 p.m.

The other men's semifinal is Flavio Cobolli vs Arthur Fils, ESPN wrote. Tiafoe's week already includes Learner Tien and No. 2 Felix Auger-Aliassime. Brandon Nakashima's Cincinnati run is the hottest American hard-court story of the summer besides this one. Two U.S. men in the last four here had not happened in 16 years. Saturday night it does.

Frances Tiafoe Cincinnati FAQ

What was the Frances Tiafoe vs Lorenzo Musetti score? 7-6(2), 7-5, with Tiafoe converting on his fourth match point, per ESPN, Al Jazeera, and Rediff.

Who does Frances Tiafoe play in the Cincinnati semifinals? Brandon Nakashima, Saturday. ESPN said it is the first all-American Cincinnati men's semifinal since Roddick and Fish in 2010.

Has Frances Tiafoe reached a Cincinnati final before? Yes. Tennis Majors noted he reached the 2024 final and lost to Jannik Sinner. This is his first Masters 1000 semifinal since then.