By Chris Oddo | @TheFanChild | Saturday August 17, 2024
Frances Tiafoe advanced when Hubert Hurkacz retired due to injury after the first set. Ben Shelton fell to Alexander Zverev in three.
Photo Source: TTV
It wasn’t the way Frances Tiafoe wanted it to go down, but he’ll take his 200th career win and a trip to the Cincinnati semifinals nevertheless. Tsitsipas went through when Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz retired after the opening set, trailing 6-3, RET.
It wasn’t much of a contest as Hurkacz appeared to be struggling from the start, and Tiafoe made the most of his chances to book a second career semifinal at the Masters 1000 level, and first since Indian Wells last March.
Hurkacz, playing his first ATP event since undergoing meniscus surgery on July 15, may have reinjured the area, which he first injured while diving in his second-round loss to Arthur Fils at Wimbledon. It wasn’t exactly clear what the problem was, but hopes are that the seventh-ranked Pole will be able to play the US Open, which begins on Monday August 26.
Tiafoe is one of two active Americans to have reached the 200-win mark. The other is Taylor Fritz with 269. The 26-year-old D.C. native is the first American to reach the semifinals in Cincinnati since 2017, and he will bid to become the first American to win the title in Cincinnati since Andy Roddick in 2004.
Saturday’s victory marked his first Top-10 win at a Masters 1000 or Grand Slam event since he defeated Rafael Nadal at the 2022 US Open.
Shelton Falls to Zverev
Tiafoe's compatriot Ben Shelton wasn’t so lucky on Saturday. 21-year-old Shelton took a one-set lead on third-seeded Alexander Zverev, but couldn’t make it stick as he fell 3-6, 7-6(3), 7-5. Shelton was bidding for his first Masters 1000 semifinal appearance.
He had Zverev frustrated for much of the match with his booming left-handed serve, but the German stayed steady and earned his 22nd consecutive victory against left-handed players.
Zverev squandered his first seven break point opportunties but converted his eighth after a brief rain delay in the final set, going ahead 6-5.
He then faced a break point while serving for the match, but held his nerve – and serve – to reach his 19th Masters 1000 semifinal.
Zverev will take on Jannik Sinner, who defeated Andrey Rublev in Saturday’s first quarterfinal, for a spot in the final at Cincinnati. The German is bidding to reach his 12th Masters final.
Tiafoe, bidding for his first Masters final, will face Holger Rune in the semifinals on Sunday. Rune defeated Jack Draper in Saturday's last quarterfinal, 6-4, 6-2. .