\n<\/p>\n
Brandon Nakashima continued his red-hot pace on Friday, knocking out sixth-seeded Taylor Fritz 7-6 (11\/9), 4-6, 6-3 to reach the ATP-WTA Cincinnati Masters semi-finals.<\/strong><\/p>\n Unseeded Czech Sara Bejlek also advanced, backing up her stunning victory over world number one Aryna Sabalenka with a 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (7\/5) quarter-final win over Madison Keys.<\/p>\n Bejlek, 20, booked a semi-final showdown with fourth-seeded American Coco Gauff, who powered to a 6-2, 6-2 victory over 10th-seeded Ukrainian Marta Kostyuk.<\/p>\n Nakashima lined up an all-American men\u2019s semi against Frances Tiafoe, who out-lasted Italian Lorenzo Musetti 7-6 (7\/2) 7-5.<\/p>\n Nakashima began his post-Wimbledon hard court run with a Washington semi-final, which he lost to Fritz, a run to the final in the Montreal Masters and now his best showing at Cincinnati \u2014 all with the US Open start barely more than a week away.<\/p>\n Nakashima withstood 22 aces from Fritz \u2014 who also bashed 31 unforced errors.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve gotten a lot of confidence over the summer,\u201d Nakashima said. \u201cIn the final set I trusted my game, I\u2019m proud with how I ended the match.\u201d<\/p>\n Tiafoe needed four match points to get past Musetti in a match played at a slow but intense pace.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a hell of a player, he makes you beat him \u2013 and that\u2019s what I did,\u201d said Tiafoe, who was broken the first time he served for the match but won the next two games. \u201cEach match is its own story. I just go out and compete as hard as I can.\u201d<\/p>\n Bejlek keeps believing\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Bejlek got off to a slow start against big-hitting Keys, a former Australian open champion and the 2019 winner in Cincinnati.<\/p>\n Bejlek trailed 0-3 on the way to dropping the first set but rode a wave of momentum shifts into the final four.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cI just kept believing in the match no matter what,\u201d said Bejlek, who won her first WTA title in Abu Dhabi in February as a qualifier.<\/p>\n \u201cI believed much more than ever, it was always in my head.\u201d<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n Keys answered with a love game, but Bejlek turned the tables two games later to force the third.<\/p>\n Two-time Grand Slam winner Gauff was dialed-in from the start against Kostyuk, breaking the 10th seed six times on the way to victory in 70 minutes.<\/p>\n Kostyuk, who had been 5-0 in quarter-finals this year, managed one break in each set, but they were minor hiccups for Gauff who lost just five points behind her first serve.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery match is getting better for me,\u201d Gauff said. \u201cI\u2019m being more decisive, my serve is improving and it is getting more and more rare for me to be broken.\u201d<\/p>\n She was expecting a challenge from the rising Bejlek.<\/p>\n \u201cSara is a great player,\u201d Gauff said. \u201cI watched her win the title in Abu Dhabi. She\u2019s so athletic and fast, but she makes you earn every point.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n