Nakashima Gains Redemption Win, Dethrones De Minaur At DC Open

Brandon Nakashima
Brandon Nakashima (photo: Wick Photography/Mubadala DC Open)

WASHINGTON, August 1, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)

It’s been four years counting since Brandon Nakashima last won an ATP Tour singles title. One has to go all the way back to San Diego in 2022, when the young American – then age 20 – won his hometown tournament. It remains his only ATP Tour crown to date.

Since Nakashima’s San Diego triumph, the now 24-year-old former Next Gen ATP Finals champion (2022) has shown a lot of promise on the tennis court – rising to a career-high ranking of No. 29 – but never knocking down the door like some of his American contemporaries such as Ben Shelton. 

However, that could all change this weekend for Nakashima at the Mubadala DC Open, the ATP/WTA 500-series combined event taking place in Washington, D.C., if he continues to play the way he has through the quarterfinal round.

Earlier this week, the 33rd-ranked Nakashima defeated Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina and No. 7 seed Jakub Mensik of Czechia to set up a rematch of last year’s DC Open quarterfinal match between Nakashima and defending champion Alex de Minaur, won in straight sets by the personable Sydneysider.

On Friday, it was Nakashima’s turn to shine. He pulled through with a 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory over the World No. 6 and top seed from Australia in one hour and 54 minutes on Stadium Court to reach the DC Open semifinals for the first time. It was Nakashima’s third career victory over de Minaur – and second straight after defeating him in the quarterfinal round at Queen’s Club on grass last month. It was also his fourth career victory against a Top-10 opponent.

“It was just a matter of fighting a way out of my service games,” Nakashima said during his on-court interview after being asked by ATP Media how he managed to pull out a victory over de Minaur. “I was able to put pressure on his service games. … He’s a very quick, explosive player and you can expect a lot of long rallies against him. So, I knew I had to serve well at the crucial moments and try to be aggressive and stay close to the baseline on my side as much as possible.”

Nakashima struck 31 winners – including 10 aces – and won 83 percent (45 of 54) of his first-serve points. He saved six of seven break points, converted two of four break points and outpointed de Minaur 83-75.

“All credit to him,” de Minaur said during his post-match news conference. “He came out with some great serving; a lot first serves. … I think his serve has improved an insane amount. I feel like he hits his spots very, very well, and he’s a very good server under pressure.”

When Nakashima was asked what it would mean to break his title drought this week, he dead-panned: “I kind of forgot what it’s like to win an ATP title. I feel like with each tournament I’m showing consistency and it’s only a matter of time to when I’ll lift a trophy. 

“This is a tournament I always look forward to because it starts off the U.S. hardcourt swing. I’m super happy that I’ve got all my friends from UVA [University of Virginia] here and support from all the fans here.”

On Saturday, Nakashima will face fellow American and World No. 10 Taylor Fritz, who equaled his best result at the DC Open, three years after reaching the semifinals in 2023, by defeating No. 40 Alex Michelsen of the United States, 6-1, 3-6, 7-6 (6), in two hours and 18 minutes on Stadium Court. The victory for Fritz, his 26th of the season and 10th career win in Washington, D.C., avenged a loss to the young American at Indian Wells earlier this year.

Fritz, who saved a match point at 5-6 in the third-set tie-break, struck 32 winners – including 15 aces – and won 84 percent (43 of 51) of his first-serve points. He saved eight of 10 break points and converted three of six break-point opportunities. Fritz outpointed Michelsen 95-81.

“I tried to just do what I felt like I could do and not overplay,” Fritz said during his on-court interview with ATP Media. “In the third-set tie-break I didn’t play as well as I would have liked to. I would have understood why I would have lost. Didn’t make enough first serves. Some of the chances where I could have been aggressive, I wasn’t. Definitely could have done better.”

During his news conference, Fritz was asked about facing another American from Southern California in Nakashima during the semifinals on Saturday. “Yeah, it’s a lot of familiarity obviously,” he said. 

“He’s obviously playing really well. It was two really good wins from him. It’s going to be a tough match. It’s going to come down to a lot of serving, as well.”

Around the Mubadala DC Open

Women:

All seven of Naomi Osaka‘s career WTA titles have come on hard courts. So, it should come as little surprise that Osaka’s game has come alive at the start of the U.S. hard-court season leading up to the US Open at the end of August. This week, she has exceeded expectations by reaching the semifinal round in Washington, D.C., for the first time, after exiting in the second round in two previous appearances.

On Friday, the No. 3 seed from Japan defeated No. 71 Elisabetta Cocciaretto of Italy, coming from behind to earn a 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 victory in two hours and 11 minutes on John Harris Court, which was packed solid with 3,000 fans. The victory advanced Osaka to her second semifinal of the season. She has now won 10 of her last 12 matches overall.

Osaka finished with 27 winners – including nine aces – and won 75 percent (33 of 44) of her first-serve points. She converted five of 12 break points and outpointed Cocciaretto 92-81.

“Overall, this match was really tough, and it felt more like a mental match than an actual tennis match,” Osaka said during her post-match news conference. “I don’t feel like I played that well, but it was more, like, fighting through every point. …

“Yeah, I’m happy to be on a hard court, and the vibes are high, but I hope that my next round I will play a lot better.”

On Saturday, Osaka will face No. 28 Alexandra Eala of the Philippines, who upset World No. 10 and third seed Elina Svitolina of Ukraine, 6-3, 6-4, in one hour and 34 minutes in front of a sold-out Stadium Court crowd of 7,500 that cheered enthusiastically for the Filipina standout from first ball to last ball. It will be the first meeting between Osaka and Eala when the two face off for a berth in Sunday’s title match.

In Eala’s Washington, D.C., debut this week, she’s now won her last four meetings against Top-10 players – 8-4 overall – and the native of Quezon City in metro Manila is now through to her third semifinal of the season. She’s 33-18 this year at all levels with her quarterfinal victory over Svitolina. Come Monday, Eala will break into the PIF WTA Top 25.

Against Svitolina, Eala hit 16 winners to 24 unforced errors, won 71 percent (24 of 34) of her first-serve points, converted six of 16 break-point chances and outpointed her opponent 71-64.

“I think I came in with a great mindset [against Elina] today. I think I was playing really well,” Eala said during her on-court interview. “She hit some good shots and was being aggressive – especially in the second set – so, I’m really happy I was able to keep my rhythm. …

“I’m just at the beginning of this learning process,” Eala added. “I’m excited for what is ahead.”

• World No. 3 and top seed Jessica Pegula of the United States advanced to her third semifinal at the DC Open, a tournament she won in 2019, after defeating No. 5 seed Anna Kalinskaya of Russia, 6-3, 7-5, in 75 minutes on Stadium Court Friday afternoon. It marked the first time in their rivalry they hadn’t played three sets as Pegula beat Kalinskaya for the sixth time in seven career meetings.

“It’s always like I’m so on edge when I’m playing her, especially at the end,” Pegula said during her on-court interview. “She hit a couple winners. I missed just like one or two balls and all of a sudden … it’s 5-all and this could swing totally the other way, which has happened in the past both ways for us. So, it felt like it was straightforward, but at the same time, in my mind, it didn’t feel like it.”

Pegula, who was playing in her 10th quarterfinal of the season, won 80 percent (28 of 35) of her first-serve points, converted three of seven break points and outpointed the World No. 20 Kalinskaya 68-50.

On Saturday, Pegula will face No. 4 seed Diana Shanaider of Russia, who advanced to the last four with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over 2022 DC Open champion Liudmila Samsonova of Russia, ranked 70th, in one hour and 29 minutes on John Harris Court.

The World No. 18 Shnaider won 76 percent (28 of 37) of her first-serve points, converted three of five break-point chances and outpointed her opponent 69-53.

“It was a very good match. Proud of myself. Tough I feel like emotionally, mentally because we just played a couple of weeks ago,” Shnaider said during her post-match news conference. “Definitely better mentally match for myself today than like couple weeks ago at Wimbledon. I feel like better job on the return today.

“So, yeah, happy with the win.”

Men:

No. 24 Rafael Jodar of Spain became the ninth teenager to reach the DC Open semifinals this century after he rallied to defeat No. 4 seed Lorenzo Musetti of Italy, 1-6, 6-1, 6-4, in one hour and 59 minutes on John Harris Court Friday evening. 

By winning, the 19-year-old from Madrid has secured his place in the PIF ATP Top 20 next week at No. 19, four spots above his career high. Last August, Jodar was ranked No. 540. By the start of this season, he had improved to No. 168.

“It sounds very good,” Jodar said during his on-court interview. “All the hard work I’m putting in the training weeks and the competition is paying off. I am always trying to give my best. I still have to learn a lot of things and I have to keep pushing.”

After dropping the opening set, Jodar turned things around against the World No. 15 Musetti and won 12 of the final 17 games of the quarterfinal match to reach his third semifinal of 2026. The victory improved his win-loss record this season to 29-11.

Jodar overcame 41 unforced errors to hit 18 winners and converted three of 10 break points, while Musetti was held to 14 winners and committed 36 unforced errors. Jodar outpointed Musetti 81-70.

On Saturday evening, Jodar will face either World No. 8 and second seed Ben Shelton of the United States or No. 30 Alejandro Tabilo of Chile, who played later Friday evening.

Doubles:

• The women’s doubles semifinals took place Friday. With the top-seeded team of Sara Errani of Italy and Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States upset in the quarterfinal round on Thursday, the highest-remaining seeds, No. 2 Erin Routliffe of New Zealand and Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia and No. 3 Janice Tjen of Indonesia and Zhang Shuai of China, were both in action.

Routliffe won the 2022 title with Jessica Pegula and Zhang won it last year with Taylor Townsend.

First, Routliffe and Sutjiadi defeated Tang Qianhui and Xu Yifan of China, 6-1, 6-1, in 61 minutes on John Harris Court. Later, Tjen and Zhang were upset by Andreja Klepac of Slovenia and Makoto Ninomiya of Japan, 6-4, 5-7, 10-7, in one hour and 32 minutes on the Grandstand Court. The winners will meet for the DC Open title on Saturday afternoon.

• In men’s doubles No. 3 seeds Julian Cash and Lloyd Glasspool of Great Britain, the only-seeded team remaining, advanced to the semifinal round by injury walkover against Sadio Doumbia and Fabien Reboul of France. 

In Saturday’s semifinal round, Cash and Glasspool will face lucky losers Ariel Behar of Israel and Anirudh Chandrasekar of India. The other semifinal will match Hugo Nys of Monaco and Edouard Roger-Vasselin of France against Austin Krajicek of the United States and Nikola Mektic of Croatia.

• As part of a new tournament initiative in collaboration with ATP Media, select doubles players this week are being mic’d up during matches. 

The microphones allow fans a closer look at the action, capturing insights from players, communication between doubles partners and behind-the-scenes moments rarely heard on court.

Earlier, doubles players also participated in Media Day activities, creating additional content to showcase their personalities beyond the court.

Shared across the tournament’s social media channels, doubles content has collectively already generated more than 1.5 million views to date. 

Friday’s Mubadala DC Open men’s results

Friday’s Mubadala DC Open women’s results

Saturday’s Mubadala DC Open order of play

By the numbers 

Rafael Jodar is the fifth teenager to break into the PIF ATP Top 20 this decade. On Monday, he will break into the Top 20 at No. 19 at 19 years and 10 months. He joins Jannik Sinner (19 years, 8 months, April 2021), Carlos Alcaraz (18 years, 9 months, February 2022), Holger Rune (19 years, 6 months, October 2022) and Jakub Mensik (19 years, 8 months, May 2025).

“Quotable …”

“It was a great match to be a part of, but for me, I’ve had some special nights here in D.C. This one was certainly up there.

“Obviously, my match that I played with Foe [Frances Tiafoe] last year was one of my favorites, one of the best atmospheres. But I still stand on when that stadium is packed and full, it’s one of the best atmospheres in tennis. So, you know, privileged to be playing here.”

– No. 2 seed Ben Shelton of the United States, during his post-match news conference Thursday, after defeating Ugo Humbert of France in three closely-fought sets to advance to the quarterfinal round.

 

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