Nakashima pounds Fritz, Bejlek beats Keys in Cincinnati upsets

SportsNakashima pounds Fritz, Bejlek beats Keys in Cincinnati upsetsBy AFP -Aug 22, 2026Add ARY News on GoogleAAResizeBrandon Nakashima continued his red-hot pace on Friday, knocking out sixth-seeded Taylor Fritz 7-6 (11/9), 4-6, 6-3 to reach the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters semi-finals. Unseeded Czech Sara Bejlek also advanced, backing 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, 20, booked a semi-final 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 semi-final, 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’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 get past Musetti in a match played at a slow but intense pace. “He’s a hell of a player, he makes you beat him – and that’s what I did,” said Tiafoe, who was broken the first time he served for the match but won the next two games. “Each match is its own story. I just go out and compete as hard as I can.” Bejlek keeps believing  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...