Brandon Nakashima continued his red-hot pace, knocking out sixth-seeded Taylor Fritz 7-6 (11/9), 4-6, 6-3 to reach the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters semifinals. Unseeded Czech Sara Bejlek also advanced late Friday, backing up her stunning victory over world number one Aryna Sabalenka with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7/5) quarterfinal win over Madison Keys. Bejlek, 20, booked a semifinal showdown with fourth-seeded American Coco Gauff, who powered to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over 10th-seeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.
Nakashima lined up an all-American men’s semi against Frances Tiafoe, who out-lasted Italian Lorenzo Musetti 7-6 (7/2) 7-5. Nakashima began his post-Wimbledon hard court run with a Washington semifinal – which he lost to Fritz – a run to the final in the Montreal Masters and now his best showing at Cincinnati, all with the US Open start barely more than a week away. Nakashima withstood 22 aces from Fritz – who also bashed 31 unforced errors.
Nakashima trailed by a break in the third set but broke back to knot it at 3-3 and broke again for a 5-3 lead, out-hitting the powerful Fritz and converting his first match point with a forehand winner. I just go out and compete as hard as I can.” Bejlek got off to a slow start against big-hitting Keys, a former Australian Open champion and the 2019 winner in Cincinnati. Bejlek trailed 0-3 on the way to dropping the first set but rode a wave of momentum shifts into the final four.
The Czech broke first in the third set only for Keys to battle back and force the tiebreaker, in which Bejlek rallied from 4-2 down on the way to a victory capped by a stinging winner down the line on match point. Keys answered with a love game, but Bejlek turned the tables two games later to force the third. Two-time Grand Slam winner Gauff was dialled in from the start against Kostyuk, breaking the 10th seed six times on the way to victory in 70 minutes.
Kostyuk, who had been 5-0 in quarterfinals this year, managed one break in each set, but they were minor hiccups for Gauff, who lost just five points behind her first serve. She’s so athletic and fast, but she makes you earn every point.”
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