Tiafoe wins 200th match to reach Cincinnati SFs; Pegula beats Fernandez in marathon

Frances Tiafoe and Jessica Pegula took contrasting paths to the Cincinnati semifinals on Saturday, keeping hopes of an American champion alive in the men's and women's singles events.

Pegula battled 2021 US Open finalist Leylah Fernandez for more than three hours before closing out a 7-5, 6-7(1), 7-6(3) victory on her fifth match point. Tiafoe, who earned a nearly three-hour victory of his own against Jiri Lehecka late Friday night, was off the court in 45 minutes Saturday evening. The American took a 6-3 opening set against Hubert Hurkacz before the Pole retired, awarding Tiafoe his 200th tour-level singles win.

"That's big. I had no idea, but that's a big milestone," Tiafoe said when told of his accomplishment. "Hopefully it won't take too long to get my next 200...

"Guys who get to 500 wins have had a really good career. I'm not trying to be like those guys with 700. I'm definitely not getting there. But if I could get to 500 that would be pretty cool."

Tiafoe reaches second SF of the summer

Tiafoe is back in the final four on home soil after reaching the semis at his home tournament in Washington, D.C., earlier this month. He was on court until after 1 a.m. on Friday night into Saturday morning, pulling out a 6-4, 6-7(10), 7-6(5) win against Jiri Lehecka on his sixth match point.

He clocked out early on Saturday evening when Hurkacz retired with a calf injury after being broken twice in the opening set.

"I thought I was returning really well. I thought I was hitting the ball great," said Tiafoe, who wished Hurkacz well in his recovery. "I was really seeing it well, especially after coming back from a long night last night. I thought I did a good job coming out pretty hot early."

The 26-year-old is now 200-183 in his career, hitting the 200-wins mark nine years after turning pro in 2015.

Pegula stretches winning streak to eight

Pegula successfully defended her Toronto title last week and is now two wins from her first Cincinnati crown. She lost just one set in Toronto but has now grinded out two three-setters to reach the semis in Ohio.

The world No. 6 will hope to continue her winning run against either Paula Badosa or Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova on Sunday, with world No. 1 Iga Swiatek and No. 3 Aryna Sabalenka contesting the opposite semifinal.

After picking up two wins on Friday to open her Cincinnati campaign, Pegula worked another extended shift Saturday to edge Fernandez. The Canadian saved match points to beat Elena Rybakina in the second round—earning her first Top 5 win since her 2021 US Open run—and nearly completed another great escape against Pegula.