Cincinnati, Aug 20 (IANS) Frances Tiafoe notched a milestone victory at the Cincinnati Open when he upset second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime 6-3, 6-4 to advance to his second Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season.
Having also reached the last eight in Miami, it is the first time in his career that Tiafoe has reached multiple Masters 1000 quarter-finals in a single season.
Tiafoe capitalised on Auger-Aliassime’s uncharacteristic lapses throughout the clash, with the Canadian committing 37 unforced errors to Tiafoe’s 16. Despite landing only 44 per cent (28/64) of his first serves, according to ATP Stats, Tiafoe stamped his authority from the baseline to return to the last eight in Cincinnati for the first time since 2024, when he reached the final.
Tiafoe will next play 10th seed Lorenzo Musetti, who earlier in the day defeated Portuguese qualifier Jaime Faria 7-5, 6-2 in 75 minutes. With the triumph, the Italian advanced to the quarter-finals at a Masters 1000 event for the first time since Rome last year.
In another match, Tommy Paul staged an impressive upset in a stop-start fourth-round quarter-final encounter with Alexander Zverev, where the home favourite saved a match point to oust the top seed.
Having booked a spot in his 50th tour-level quarter-final, Paul will take on Flavio Cobolli for a semi-final spot in Ohio. The seventh-seeded Cobolli earlier halted the charge of in-form Rafael Jodar with a 4-6, 7-6(3), 6-3 victory.
The 21st seed Arthur Fils downed world No. 8 Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 to become just the second Frenchman to reach five Masters 1000 quarter-finals in a single season, after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in 2012.
Moreover, sixth seed Taylor Fritz eased past Christopher O’Connell 6-4, 6-3 to return to the last eight in Cincinnati for the first time since 2023. With his one-hour, 17-minute victory, the 28-year-old became the fourth American man to reach at least three Cincinnati quarter-finals this century after Andy Roddick (6), Mardy Fish (4) and John Isner (3).
–IANS
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