Brandon Nakashima saved three consecutive match points before completing a dramatic comeback against Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday at the Cincinnati Open. The 27th-seeded American defeated the fourth seed 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-1, advancing to the round of 16 after two hours and 51 minutes.
Nakashima appeared headed for elimination when he served at 4-5, 0-40 in the second set. Medvedev had already taken the opening set in a tiebreak and stood one point away from closing the match on three occasions. Instead, Nakashima attacked. He saved the first match point with a forehand approach and volley, survived an 18-shot rally on the second and used serve-and-volley to erase the third. He eventually held serve before forcing another tiebreak.
“Down match points, I was just trying to tell myself to keep fighting for every point,” Nakashima said during his on-court interview. The American carried that momentum into the tiebreak, winning it 7-4 to force a deciding set. Medvedev never recovered. Nakashima broke early in the third and pulled away as the former Cincinnati champion became increasingly frustrated.
Nakashima closed the final set 6-1 to earn his first victory over Medvedev in four career meetings. Medvedev had won their previous encounter in the Brisbane final in January. The result continued an impressive North American hard-court run for Nakashima. The 25-year-old reached the semifinals in Washington before advancing to his first Masters 1000 final in Montreal, where he lost to fellow American Ben Shelton.
Now ranked a career-high No. 22, Nakashima has won 20 hard-court matches this season. Only Jakub Mensik, with 21, has recorded more on the ATP Tour. Tuesday’s victory was also Nakashima’s fifth against a top-10 opponent. It came against a player who has traditionally produced some of his best tennis on hard courts and won the Cincinnati title in 2019.
Nakashima will next face Portugal’s Nuno Borges, who produced another upset by defeating 13th-seeded Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4. Borges entered that match having lost all five of his previous meetings with Rublev. The winner will advance to the Cincinnati Open quarterfinals as the tournament moves closer to its August 23 championship match.
