Tiafoe Races Into Tokyo SFs

After winning his 13th consecutive tie-break to advance to the Tokyo quarter-finals, Frances Tiafoe said he hoped to avoid such tight sets despite his success in clutch moments. The fourth-seeded American got his wish on Friday as he cruised to a 6-0, 6-4 victory against Miomir Kecmanovic to continue his career-best run at the Rakuten Japan Open Tennis Championships.

In just more than 30 minutes, Tiafoe won the first eight games of the match to take command under the closed roof in the Ariake Colosseum. After getting on the board for 1-2 in the second set, Kecmanovic called for the physiotherapist and had his lower back worked on. He created a 15/40 opening with Tiafoe serving at 3-2, but could not convert as the American began a run of eight straight points on serve.

Stepping up to the line at 30/30 as he served out the match, Tiafoe overcame his opponent’s final push with a whipped forehand winner, hit sharply cross-court, and an ace up the ‘T’ — his sixth ace on the day.

With the win in this meeting of first-time Tokyo quarter-finalists, Tiafoe advanced to his fourth semi-final of the season following deep runs in Estoril, Atlanta and the US Open. He is seeking his first title of 2022.

The American has not dropped a set in his three matches in Tokyo, defeating Japan’s Yasutaka Uchiyama in the opening round and Spain’s Bernabe Zapata Miralles in the second round.

By reaching the semi-finals, Tiafoe moved up two places to No. 17 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, which would set him up for a new career high. But several players just below the American can still finish the week above him, including Nick Kyrgios and Denis Shapovalov in Tokyo.

Kecmanovic was seeking his third semi-final of 2022 and the first of his career above the ATP 250 level. The Serbian saved six match points — including one with a tweener — to shock eighth seed Daniel Evans in the second round after knocking out Japanese No. 1 Yoshihito Nishioka in his opening match.