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Brandon Nakashima saved three match points and came from a set and a break down to beat fourth seed Daniil Medvedev 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-1 in the round of 32 at the Cincinnati Open. Nuno Borges ended Andrey Rublev’s week 6-3, 6-4, and Frances Tiafoe outlasted Learner Tien in an all-American three-setter. Joao Fonseca withdrew, handing Christopher O’Connell a walkover.
Cincinnati, United States: The round of 32 at the Lindner Family Tennis Center was supposed to be where the seeds consolidated. Instead it removed the fourth seed, the 13th, the ninth and the 23rd, and left a draw that looks nothing like it did on Sunday.
The centrepiece was on the Grandstand, where Brandon Nakashima produced the escape of his season. Medvedev had beaten him three times out of three, twice on hard courts, and for a set and a half he was doing it again — the Russian took the opening tiebreak 7-3 and moved a break clear in the second. Three match points came and went. Nakashima saved all three, forced a second breaker, took it 7-4, and then swept the decider 6-1 for a 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-1 win. It is the first time in six appearances here that he has gone beyond this round.
Rublev’s Slide, Borges’s Release
On another court, Nuno Borges was ending a personal drought. The Portuguese had lost five straight to Andrey Rublev; this time he never let the 13th seed settle, winning 6-3, 6-4. The defeat carries a ranking consequence for Rublev, who will drop outside the world’s top 20 for the first time in six years.
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Borges now meets Nakashima for a place in the quarterfinals — a section of the draw that has lost its two highest seeds inside a day.
An All-American Night That Went the Distance
Frances Tiafoe closed out the round on Wednesday night against fellow American Learner Tien, the No. 16 seed, and it took him three sets: 6-4, 4-6, 6-4. It is Tiafoe’s fourth appearance in the Cincinnati last 16 and his third Masters 1000 round of 16 of the season, two years on from his run to the final at this venue, and it reverses a loss to Tien at Delray Beach earlier in the year.
The handshake produced the moment of the night. Tien, needling his opponent across the net, teased Tiafoe about the surgery he underwent less than a week ago to remove a cyst from his right hand — insisting, to Tiafoe’s evident amusement, that the operation had been faked.
Waiting for Tiafoe is Felix Auger-Aliassime, who had booked his own place a day earlier with a 7-5, 6-1 win over Juan Manuel Cerundolo. The Canadian second seed was barely troubled, reaching the Cincinnati last 16 for the fifth time in six editions and taking his 2026 win total to 32.
Faria Keeps Going, Fritz Keeps Winning
Jaime Faria’s week is now the story of the bottom half. Having already removed eighth seed Ben Shelton, the Portuguese recovered from a set down against Adam Walton to win 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3) and reach the round of 16 at a Masters 1000 for the first time. Lorenzo Musetti, who dismissed Michael Zheng 6-1, 6-3, is his reward.
Taylor Fritz was the most businesslike winner of the round, ending Daniel Merida’s excellent North American run 6-3, 6-4 with the kind of performance that requires no elaboration — too solid behind serve, too consistent from the ground. The American has now won seven consecutive matches on home soil.
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Elsewhere, Tommy Paul dropped the opening set to Adolfo Vallejo before recovering for a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win, and Arthur Fils came through the round’s other three-setter against ninth seed Jiri Lehecka, 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-3.
A Draw That Has Opened Up
The one result decided off court cost the tournament its 23rd seed: Joao Fonseca withdrew, and Christopher O’Connell advanced by walkover to a last-16 meeting with Fritz. With Ben Shelton and now Medvedev both gone, the field that reassembles on Wednesday is markedly thinner at the top. Alexander Zverev against Tommy Paul and Auger-Aliassime against Tiafoe headline a round of 16 that has been rearranged by three days of upsets.
Results — Round of 32, Men’s Singles
[2] F. Auger-Aliassime d. J. Cerundolo 7-5, 6-1
[6] T. Fritz d. D. Merida Aguilar 6-3, 6-4
[10] L. Musetti d. M. Zheng 6-1, 6-3
[17] F. Tiafoe d. [16] L. Tien 6-4, 4-6, 6-4
[18] T. Paul d. A. Vallejo 3-6, 6-3, 6-4
[21] A. Fils d. [9] J. Lehecka 6-1, 6-7 (7), 6-3
[27] B. Nakashima d. [4] D. Medvedev 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 6-1
N. Borges d. [13] A. Rublev 6-3, 6-4
J. Faria d. A. Walton 4-6, 6-4, 7-6 (3)
C. O’Connell d. [23] J. Fonseca w/o
