Fritz

Frances Tiafoe and Brandon Nakashima set up one all-American men’s semifinal, Coco Gauff and Jessica Pegula also win.

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’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 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.

“I just kept believing in the match no matter what,” said Bejlek, who won her first WTA title in Abu Dhabi in February as a qualifier.

“I believed much more than ever; it was always in my head.”

After a solid first set, the 24th-ranked Keys broke in the third game of the second, but Bejlek, ranked 35th, broke back in the sixth and held for a 4-3 lead.

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.

“Every match is getting better for me,” Gauff said. “I’m being more decisive, my serve is improving and it is getting more and more rare for me to be broken.”

She was expecting a challenge from the rising Bejlek.

“Sara is a great player,” Gauff said. “I watched her win the title in Abu Dhabi. She’s so athletic and fast, but she makes you earn every point.”

Alex Eala rallies past top seed Jessica Pegula in a two-day, rain-hit final, while Taylor Fritz beats teen Rafael Jodar.

Alexandra Eala made history as the first player from the Philippines to win a WTA Tour-level singles title, defeating top seed Jessica Pegula at the Mubadala DC Open before Taylor Fritz claimed the men’s crown.

The 21-year-old Eala rallied to beat world number three Pegula 4-6, 6-4, 6-0 in a weather-disrupted women’s final that spanned two days, ending on Monday.

Rain had suspended play on Sunday with Pegula leading by a set but trailing 2-1 in the second. Upon Monday’s resumption, Eala dominated, winning 10 of the final 13 games with aggressive baseline play and a formidable serve to seal her breakthrough victory.

“I feel so much love. My first chance at a title, knowing it won’t be the last, and already having achieved this milestone for my career,” Eala said on the court after lifting the trophy in front of a vocal contingent of supporters. “I knew whatever happened after this match would have already been a win for me.”

Pegula, who previously won the DC Open in 2019, praised the young Filipina’s remarkable campaign.

“To see how far you’ve come over the last couple of years… to see the amazing fans that follow you every place you go, it’s not fun to play against, but I think it’s amazing,” Pegula told Eala during the trophy presentation.

In the men’s final, American Taylor Fritz earned his 11th career ATP title by defeating 19-year-old Spanish rising star Rafael Jodar 7-6(2), 6-4.

Fritz, returning to peak form following a knee injury that sidelined him earlier this season, produced a steady performance behind his serve, winning 81 percent of his first-serve points.

The 28-year-old American edged a tight opening-set tiebreak before securing the decisive break in the second set to seal his first title of 2026.

The double bill concluded a rain-plagued week in the US capital as players now head into the North American hardcourt swing ahead of the US Open.