Nakashima stuns Medvedev to reach the last 16
The American saved three match points to claim his first win over the Russian in four meetings, while Borges knocked out Rublev.
The American saved three match points to claim his first win over the Russian in four meetings, while Borges knocked out Rublev.
Brandon Nakashima caused a major upset in the third round of the Cincinnati Open by defeating fourth seed Daniil Medvedev 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-1. The American saved three match points during the match, according to Reuters, and thus recorded his first victory over the Russian in four head-to-head encounters.
Nakashima started the match well, breaking Medvedev's serve to lead 4-2 and moving closer to taking the first set. However, the Russian saved four set points, got the break back, and took the lead in the tie-break.
In the second set, the American held his nerve, saved three match points, and forced another tie-break, which he won this time. In the deciding set, Medvedev lost his rhythm, and Nakashima broke serve twice to close out the match, as reported by Channel News Asia.
Nakashima, currently ranked 22nd on the ATP list, arrived in Cincinnati in excellent form after reaching the semifinals in Washington and his first Masters 1000 final in Montreal. With this victory, he improved his record on the summer hard-court series to 10-2.
Interestingly, Medvedev had beaten the American earlier this year in the Brisbane final and had a 6-1 set record against him before this match.
Nakashima's next opponent will be Portugal's Nuno Borges, who defeated Russian 13th seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4 in his third-round match.
