Brandon Nakashima produced another impressive performance on Tuesday, defeating fourth seed Daniil Medvedev 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-1 in the Cincinnati Open third round.
Nakashima made a strong start and broke Medvedev for a 4-2 lead. He then moved within one game of taking the opening set.
However, Medvedev fought back and saved four set points. He broke Nakashima while the American served for the set before taking the tiebreak with a backhand passing shot down the line.
Nakashima responded strongly in the second set. He matched Medvedev game for game and saved three match points before winning another tense tiebreak to force a deciding set.
Medvedev then lost his rhythm in the final set. Nakashima took advantage, breaking twice before closing out the match 6-1.
The victory marked Nakashima’s first win in four meetings with Medvedev. The Russian had beaten him in the Brisbane final earlier this year and entered the match with a 6-1 advantage in sets.
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Breakthrough Summer Continues
Nakashima arrived in Cincinnati in excellent form after reaching the semi-finals in Washington and his first Masters 1000 final in Montreal.
The victory improved his record to 10-2 during the summer hard-court swing.
The world number 22 will next face Portugal’s Nuno Borges, who defeated Russian 13th seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4.
Nakashima will now look to continue his breakthrough run as he targets another deep Masters 1000 campaign.
