With Wayne Ferreira Coaching Him, Nakashima Earns First Top 10 Win in Two Years

Brandon Nakashima loves the grass, and it appears that the surface loves him back. 

The Southern Californian recorded his first Top 10 win in over two years to reach his third ATP semifinal of the season on Friday at Queen’s Club, defeating top-seeded Alex de Minaur, 7-5, 6-3.

Nakashima, ranked 32, improved to 18-8 on grass across all levels since the start of 2024, and reached his first semifinal at Queen’s Club, setting a clash with seventh-seeded Francisco Cerundolo. 

“I think my game suits the grass pretty well. I’m able to adapt pretty quickly with the footwork and the timing and everything,” Nakashima said after snapping a 14-match losing streak against the Top 10. “Just this tournament in general, I mean, I feel very comfortable here. Obviously London is one of my favorite cities in the world, so yeah, just overall great feelings here.” 

The American won 17 of 26 second serve points and saved both break points he faced against sixth-ranked De Minaur. Nakashima converted both break points he saw to earn the win in 92 minutes. 

“Going into the match against him, you know you’re going to have to work for every point,” the 24-year-old said. “You know you’re going to have to kind of dig out some long rallies.

“Today, there were quite a few long rallies, especially in the first set. I just tried to stay patient, to focus on what I do best –  serving and being aggressive about the first ball. I think today I returned really well, too.” 

New Coach Alert 

Nakashima is in his first week of working with Wayne Ferreira, the former coach of Frances Tiafoe for nearly four years who was a former World No.6 himself. 

“This is the first week we have spent together, actually,” Nakashima said of the South African who owns 15 ATP titles and over 500 tour-level wins. “It's been working out pretty well. Obviously he's a great guy. Had an amazing career. It's nice to have his experience and his expertise in the corner.

“It’s still kind of the beginning stages right now, so we’re still getting to know each other, getting a feel for each other, but he’s been great so far. I have definitely learned a lot from him. I appreciate him being here.” 

Ferreira and Nakashima plan to work together until the end of the season. 

Semis Set at Queen’s Club

Two unseeded players have made it through to the final four in London, with Ugo Humbert joining Nakashima as an unseeded semifinalist. The Frenchman saved four match points to complete his round of 16 victory over Hamad Medjedovic before taking out Rinky Hijikata 6-1, 6-2 in the quarterfinals.

Tommy Paul, the 2024 champion, topped Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, 6-3, 7-6(4) to improve to 10-2 lifetime at Queen’s Club. The American has already matched his 2025 win total with 29 wins on the season.