Nakashima began his post-Wimbledon hard court run with a Washington semi-final, which he lost to Fritz, a run to the final in the Montreal Masters and now his best showing at Cincinnati — all with the US Open start barely more than a week away.
Nakashima withstood 22 aces from Fritz — who also bashed 31 unforced errors.
Nakashima trailed by a break in the third set but broke back to knot it at 3-3 and broke again for a 5-3 lead, out-hitting the powerful Fritz and converting his first match point with a forehand winner.
“I’ve gotten a lot of confidence over the summer,” Nakashima said. “In the final set I trusted my game, I’m proud of how I ended the match.”
Tiafoe needed four match points to get past Musetti in a match played at a slow but intense pace.
“He’s a hell of a player, he makes you beat him — and that’s what I did,” said Tiafoe, who was broken the first time he served for the match but won the next two games. “Each match is its own story. I just go out and compete as hard as I can.”