Brandon Nakashima stunned fourth seed Daniil Medvedev in the Cincinnati Open third round on August 18, overcoming three match points to win 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 6-1 [1, 2]. Nakashima improved his record to 10-2 on the 2026 summer hard-court swing, having reached the semifinals in Washington and his first Masters 1000 final in Montreal [1, 2].
Medvedev lost his composure late in the match, throwing his racquet at electronic boards and kicking a screen after failing to convert three match points [3]. He committed 51 unforced errors during the contest, showing signs of frustration [3]. Nakashima said, "Down match points, I was just trying to tell myself to keep fighting for every point. I'm super happy with the level in the third" [3].
The American will face Nuno Borges in the fourth round after the Portuguese player upset 13th seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 6-4 in an earlier match [1, 2].
On the women's side, two-time defending US Open champion Aryna Sabalenka advanced to the fourth round with a commanding 6-1, 6-3 win over Wang Xinyu in just 54 minutes [3]. Sabalenka did not face a single break point and delivered 17 winners to 5 unforced errors, dominating the match [3]. "To get this win in under an hour [is] an insane result and I'm so happy to be through. I think I really trusted myself and I was going for my shots without overthinking. That was the weapon of tonight's match," Sabalenka said [3].
Nakashima and Borges will meet next in the men's singles fourth round at Cincinnati, with both players coming off notable upsets in the third round [1, 2].
