Match Report
Tiafoe dials in to down Davidovich Fokina in Cincinnati
Home favourite will play Musetti or Jarry next at ATP Masters 1000
August 13, 2024
Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Frances Tiafoe overcomes Alejandro Davidovich Fokina on Tuesday at the Cincinnati Open.
By ATP Staff
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
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 13, 2024
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.”
