An American man is guaranteed a place in the Cincinnati Open final after Frances Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima won their quarterfinal matches on Friday. Tiafoe defeated Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti 7-6(2), 7-5 in a match that lasted two hours and 17 minutes. He will face Nakashima, who knocked out fellow American Taylor Fritz 7-6(9), 4-6, 6-3.
Their semifinal is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. in Ohio, which is 4 p.m. in Costa Rica. It will be the first Cincinnati semifinal between two American men since Andy Roddick faced Mardy Fish in 2010. The winner will play either Italy’s Flavio Cobolli or France’s Arthur Fils in Sunday’s final.
Tiafoe had a chance to serve out his match against Musetti at 5-4 in the second set but could not finish the job. Instead of letting the missed opportunity derail him, he broke Musetti’s serve in the next game and closed the match on his fourth match point. “I just gotta play to win,” Tiafoe said after the match. “The guy who plays a little more brave at certain moments gets it.”
The 28-year-old is trying to win the biggest title of his career. He reached the Cincinnati final in 2024 but lost to Jannik Sinner. Tiafoe has beaten Nakashima in six of their seven previous meetings, giving him a clear advantage in their history. Nakashima, however, enters the semifinal in the best form of his career.
The 25-year-old reached his first Masters 1000 final earlier this month in Montreal. He has now followed that performance by reaching the final four in Cincinnati. A Masters 1000 tournament sits just below the four Grand Slam events in importance. Strong results at this level bring major ranking points, prize money and momentum.
Nakashima’s path through Cincinnati has included victories over Daniil Medvedev and Fritz. He saved three match points against Medvedev before winning in three sets, then recovered from a break down in the final set against Fritz. Fritz led 3-2 in the deciding set, but Nakashima won the final four games to take the match.
“Just getting a lot of confidence from all the matches I have been playing,” Nakashima said. “When it came down to the wire in the third set, I just tried to trust my game fully.” The Cincinnati Open has produced several major surprises this year. Argentina’s Thiago Agustín Tirante defeated Novak Djokovic and reached his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal before losing to Fils. Top men’s seed Alexander Zverev was eliminated by Tommy Paul, while Medvedev fell to Nakashima.
There is still a Latin American presence in the doubles competition. Brazilian pair Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos defeated Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori 7-6(7), 6-3 to reach the semifinals. Luz and Matos will face Hugo Nys and Édouard Roger-Vasselin on Saturday. The Brazilians are coming off their first Masters 1000 title together in Montreal.
The Cincinnati results carry added weight because the U.S. Open singles competition begins August 30 in New York. Players have only a short window to recover, adjust their games and build confidence before the year’s final Grand Slam. For Tiafoe and Nakashima, Saturday’s semifinal offers something more immediate: a place in one of the biggest finals of the tennis season.
