Frances Tiafoe, Ashlyn Krueger upset Olympic medalists in Cincinnati

As the countdown to the US Open continues, the world's best tennis players are back on American soil this week in Cincinnati. At the ATP Masters 1000 and WTA 1000 event—the highest level on both tours outside the Grand Slams—Frances Tiafoe and qualifier Ashlyn Krueger both made strong starts with upsets against Olympic medalists.

Tiafoe is through to the third round after a 6-3, 6-2 win against bronze medalist Lorenzo Musetti on Wednesday, while Krueger kickstarted her main-draw campaign with a 5-7, 7-6(4), 6-2 victory against silver medalist Donna Vekic on Tuesday. The 20-year-old Krueger also beat Naomi Osaka, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3, in the final round of qualifying on Monday.

There were also three all-American matchups in the Cincinnati opening round, with 12th seed Ben Shelton beating Reilly Opelka in two tiebreaks, Brandon Nakashima knocking off 11th seed Taylor Fritz in a third-set tiebreak, and qualifier Taylor Townsend edging Toronto doubles champ Caroline Dolehide—also in a third-set tiebreak.

Tiafoe back on track

Tiafoe has been at his best in the U.S. all season, and that trend has continued in Cincinnati. After a 6-3, 7-6(6) win against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the first round Tuesday, he made quick work of Musetti with four breaks of serve against the 14th seed.

The 26-year-old Tiafoe did not face a break point in the victory, which set up a meeting with Jiri Lehecka for a quarterfinal place.

"Just going day by day, having fun," Tiafoe said of his mindset in Cincinnati, where he is into the third round for the second time. "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 lost to eventual champion Sebastian Korda in the semifinals of his home tournament in Washington, D.C., earlier this month, then was turned back by Alejandro Tabilo in the Montreal first round. In addition to Tiafoe's deep run in D.C., he also reached the final in Houston and the semis in Delray Beach this season.

Krueger beats big names

Kruger entered Cincinnati at a career-high WTA ranking of No. 65 and is quickly closing in on the Top 50 after two big upsets in Ohio. On consecutive days, she scored three-set wins against Osaka in qualifying and 16th seed Vekic in the first round.

The 2020 Orange Bowl champion also made a deep run as a qualifier last week in Toronto, where she upset 15th seed Leylah Fernandez before falling to eventual champ Jessica Pegula in the last 16. Two wins away from her first WTA 1000 quarterfinal, she next meets former North Carolina State star Diana Shnaider on Thursday.

Townsend won her second straight all-American showdown by beating wild card Dolehide, 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(7), to set up a Thursday meeting with ninth seed Daria Kasatkina. The D.C. doubles champion (with Asia Muhammad) booked her place in the main draw with a 6-0, 6-3 win against Katie Volynets in the final qualifying round.