Frances Tiafoe converts the sixth point of the game, surviving a night scare in Cincinnati | ATP Tour

Cincinnati

Tiafoe converts the sixth point of the match, surviving tomorrow night

The American held three points in the second game of the tie break

August 17, 2024

Frances Tiafoe survived an overnight scare from Jiri Lehecka at the Cincinnati Open, where the American won 6-4, 6-7(10), 7-6(5) after converting her sixth match point on Friday.

The home favorite dropped three points in the second tiebreaker and took a 5-2 lead in the final. But Lehecka, who was competing this week for the first time since retiring in the semifinals in Madrid with a back injury, won three straight games and finally forced a break.

Tiafoe, who trailed a mini-break 2/4 in the third set tie-break, took a break after winning the match and wrote, ‘Whatever it takes’ on the camera lens. He improved to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Lehecka and advanced to the quarter-finals after two hours, 52 minutes.

The 26-year-old woman has benefited from the previous rounds to remain unchanged from the baseline. Tiafoe committed 34 unforced errors to Lehecka’s 59, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The three-time tour-level player has defeated 24 aces in the Czech and will next meet another big server, Hubert Hurkacz, in the last eight.

Lehecka, 22, was aiming to build on his second match against fourth seed Daniil Medvedev.

Did you know?
An American man has not won the Cincinnati title since Andy Roddick in 2006. Tiafoe and Ben Shelton, seeded in opposite halves, are the only Americans left in the tournament.