ATP Brandon Nakashima Taylor Fritz

Nakashima extends his winning streak by eliminating Fritz in Cincinnati

Pedro de Pablos - 22 Aug 2026
Go to comments seciton
Nakashima extends his winning streak by eliminating Fritz in Cincinnati. Source: Getty Images.

Brandon Nakashima has once again demonstrated that he is one of the fittest players on the North American hard court tour. After reaching the semifinals in Washington and the final in Montreal, the American player has made it to the semifinals of the ATP Cincinnati 2026 after an epic victory over Taylor Fritz with a score of 7-6(9) 4-6 6-3 after 2 hours and 13 minutes of play.

 

 

The first set was a clear reflection of the match overall. Two servers in their prime who barely gave their opponent any opportunities in the early stages of the match. After a frantic tiebreak, it was finally Nakashima who took the lead on the scoreboard after converting his fifth set point. However, Fritz reacted and needed just one break in the second set to take the match to a decisive third set. Taylor struck first with a break and put one foot and a half in the semifinals, but with a spectacular comeback, Brandon went from 2-3 to 6-3 to extend his state of grace.

Nakashima eyes the top 10

Nakashima has become one of the best hard court players on the circuit, and his recent results will at least allow him to leave Cincinnati ranked 16th in the ATP rankings. In the semifinals, he will face the winner of the match between Frances Tiafoe and Lorenzo Musetti, and if he reaches the tournament final, he would be placed as 11th in the world. However, even if he lifts the title, he will not have a chance to be in the top 10 before the US Open.

What is clear is that Nakashima will be one of the biggest threats in the last Grand Slam of the year for several reasons. He is playing at home, he has been showing the best level of his career, and his serve has become his best ally. His qualitative leap in this tour has been astounding, so it would not be surprising to see him reaching the final rounds in New York in front of his home crowd. Without a doubt, one of the great discoveries of the second half of the year.

This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, Nakashima prolonga su estado de gracia eliminando a Fritz en Cincinnati