Home hopes Tiafoe, Michelsen advance in Cincinnati

American hard courts often bring out the best in Frances Tiafoe.

That much was true on Tuesday afternoon at the Cincinnati Open, where the home favourite put together a high-quality first-round display to down Alejandro Davidovich Fokina 6-3, 7-6(6). Tiafoe produced some moments of magic, particularly off his forehand wing, to improve to 9-2 in opening-round matches on hard courts this year.

The No. 27 in the PIF ATP Rankings and a former US Open semi-finalist, Tiafoe reached the quarter-finals in Atlanta and the semi-finals in Washington before a first-round exit in Montreal last week. He was in trouble early on his return to home soil in Cincinnati but reeled off six straight games from 1-3 in the first set to take control against Davidovich Fokina.

Tiafoe looked set to seal a routine victory in the 10th game of the second set, when he carved out three match points. Yet Davidovich Fokina held firm on serve, and even earned a set point of his own in the subsequent tie-break before Tiafoe found a final three-point streak from 5/6 to complete a one-hour, 44-minute victory.

“I thought he played some pretty good points. Other than the return I had on my racquet, the other two he played some good points," reflected Tiafoe when asked about his difficulties closing out the match. "He’s a Spaniard and they fight until the end, so I kind of knew that going in and wasn’t too surprised.

"Obviously, you want to get it done there. It's a good first-round win for me. Quality player, been around for a while, and he wins a lot of matches out here on the Tour, so it was a good win.”

Fully Focused Foe ?

Solid display from @FTiafoe to take down Davidovich Fokina 6-3 7-6(6)!@CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/I9sLiX3mzX

With his win, Tiafoe improved to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series with Alejandro Davidovich Fokina. The 26-year-old’s next opponent in Ohio will be 14th seed Lorenzo Musetti or Nicolas Jarry.

“I haven’t played well here at all," said Tiafoe, when asked about his desire to improve on his 7-7 career record in Cincinnati. "I think I’ve made one third round. I’ve lost on this court a lot. But just going day by day, having fun. It’s time for me to get back to winning matches more consistently. I lost two in a row, so this was big to not lose three in a row.”

Tiafoe’s #NextGenATP countryman Alex Michelsen also overcame staunch resistance from his first-round opponent to book a crunch clash against top seed Jannik Sinner. Having come through qualifying at the Lindner Family Tennis Center, the 19-year-old defeated Tallon Griekspoor 6-1, 5-7, 6-2 on his Cincinnati main-draw debut.

Michelsen powered 36 winners, including 10 aces, against Griekspoor according to Infosys ATP Stats. After notching his third Masters 1000 match win of the year, the big-serving American has risen six spots to a career-high No. 51 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, while he has also consolidated second place in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah. Michelsen is chasing his second straight appearance at the season-ending Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF.

Alex Michelsen in action against Tallon Griekspoor on Tuesday at the Cincinnati Open. Photo Credit: Mike Lawrence/ATP Tour

Zhang Zhizhen, Sebastian Baez and Jiri Lehecka also booked their second-round spots on Tuesday. Zhang overcame the big-serving Frenchman Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-3, 7-6(4) to become the first Chinese main-draw match winner in tournament history. He will next take on Montreal finalist and sixth seed Andrey Rublev.

The World No. 20 Baez downed Marcos Giron 6-4, 5-7, 7-6(6), while Lehecka triumphed 7-6(3), 6-3 against Mariano Navone in his first competitive match since he retired from his maiden Masters 1000 semi-final in Madrid in early May. The Czech will face fourth seed Daniil Medvedev in the second round.

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