Cincinnati (USA), Aug 17 American tennis player Frances Tiafoe survived a nail-biting encounter against Jiri Lehecka prevailing 6-4, 6-7(10), 7-6(5) to advance into the quarterfinals of the Cincinnati Open.
Tiafoe secured victory on his sixth match point after nearly three hours of gruelling tennis.
From the start, Tiafoe looked in control, taking the first set 6-4 with his trademark aggressive play, focusing on forehand exchanges where he consistently gained the upper hand.
However, the Czech challenger, returning to competition for the first time since an injury in Madrid, proved to be a formidable opponent. Lehecka clawed back from three match points down in the second-set tiebreaker, eventually taking it 12-10, leaving Tiafoe frustrated and the crowd anxious.
The drama escalated in the third set, where Tiafoe raced to a 5-2 lead and seemed destined to wrap things up comfortably. Yet Lehecka, refusing to bow out quietly, stormed back with three consecutive games to force another tiebreaker.
Tiafoe found himself down a mini-break at 2/4, but with steely determination and the home crowd behind him, the American dug deep, clawing back to claim a hard-fought 7-5 win in the tiebreaker.
The win propels Tiafoe into the quarterfinals, where he will face another stern test in Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, who advanced after defeating Italy’s Flavio Cobolli in three sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-1).
Meanwhile, other top contenders also booked their places in the quarterfinals. Danish sensation Holger Rune fought back from a set down to defeat the resurgent Gael Monfils 3-6, 6-3, 6-4. The 20-year-old is now the first Danish man to reach the last eight in Cincinnati’s Open Era history and will face Britain’s Jack Draper, who continued his impressive run with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-4 win over Felix Auger-Aliassime.
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