Tiafoe stuns Rune to reach Cincinnati Open final
Frances Tiafoe stunned world No.16 Holger Rune at the Cincinnati Masters on Monday (AEST), saving match points to beat the Dane 4-6, 6-1, 7-6 (4).
The win means the 26-year-old American is through to his first-ever Masters 1000 final, which takes place on Tuesday.
He will meet world No.1 Jannik Sinner, who also went to three sets as he defeated third seed Alexander Zverev in a three-hour, seven-minute battle, 7-6 (9), 5-7, 7-6 (4).
Rune drew first blood, breaking Tiafoe’s serve in the ninth game before holding his own to win the opening set 6-4.
However, Tiafoe hit right back, finding his range and capitalising on some loose shots from Rune in the second set to race away and level the match after just seven games.
Then it was Rune’s turn to swing the momentum. The 21-year-old came back from a bathroom break between the second and third sets playing like a man with dinner reservations, bolting out to a 3-0 lead.
Rune was soon up 5-2 and looking like he would be into his fifth Masters 1000 final.
Tiafoe was not done, though. A quick hold made it 5-3 before Rune tightened and Tiafoe broke him for 5-4.
The American then defended two match points on his own serve — one incredibly ending in a net cord — to level the contest at 5-5.
He continued riding the momentum, rolling through the tiebreaker 7-4 to book his spot in Tuesday’s championship match.
Tiafoe turns season around in Cincinnati
The result comes out of the blue for Tiafoe, who has been having a poor season in 2024 by his standards.
Coming into the tournament, he was 19-18 for the year, having only won three matches in a row on two occasions.
However, he shared after the match that he never believed he was far away from a result like this.
“Believe it or not, I wasn’t really thinking about final of a Masters, but I was thinking about putting some matches together,” Tiafoe explained.
“Until Montreal, every person I lost to won the tournament.
“I’ve been playing really well, way better than Wimbledon.
“Playing Centre Court Wimbledon really sparked me.
“I really struggled for a while to have fun, was worrying about other people’s expectations on me.
“I’m happy, I’ve got gratitude to the game.
“I’m cool with any result as long as I come out and compete my hardest, give the people a good show, have fun.”
Up against Sinner in the final, Tiafoe is a +275 underdog at top tennis bookmakers.
While he is realistic about his status as the underdog, Tiafoe has assured the Cincinnati crowds he will make Sinner work for the victory.
“Absolutely, for sure he is the favourite,” he said.
“There’s no question about it.
“Doesn’t mean I’m not going to come out here and compete as hard as I can and try to win, right?
“It’s one match, it’s a final, let the best man win.”
