Nakashima Leads American Charge At Wimbledon

#NextGenATP American Brandon Nakashima earned his first Top 20 win Thursday when he upset World No. 16 Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 4-6, 6-1, 7-6(8) to reach the third round at Wimbledon for the first time.

The 20-year-old played consistently as he led the American charge on Day 4 at the grass-court Grand Slam. Nakashima fired 22 winners, while he committed just 14 unforced errors to advance after two hours and 19 minutes in his first ATP Head2Head meeting against the Canadian.

“It felt amazing out there. To play against such a high-level player on one of the biggest stages, it doesn’t get much better than that,” Nakashima said. “The crowd was great out there today. I am happy with the way I played and I am looking forward to the next match.”

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A semi-finalist at the 2021 Intesa Sanpaolo Next Gen ATP Finals, the American will look to advance to the fourth round at a major for the first time when he faces Colombian Daniel Elahi Galan. Last month, Nakashima reached the third round at Roland Garros in a run that gave him further confidence.

"With each match I think my game is progressing in the right direction,” Nakashima added. “I am learning a lot from these matches, win or loss. I think getting to the third round in Paris was big for my confidence. Just knowing that I could compete with these top guys at the Grand Slams. Making the third round here is another step in the right direction.”

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No. 1 American Taylor Fritz also advanced, defeating British wild card Alastair Gray 6-3, 7-6(3), 6-3 to capture his sixth straight win in two hours and six minutes.

The World No. 14, who lifted his third tour-level title and second in Eastbourne last week, broke Gray four times to reach the third round at SW19 for the second time. The Indian Wells titlist will next play Alex Molcan after the Slovakian downed Marcos Giron 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.

Jenson Brooksby moved past Benjamin Bonzi 7-6(3), 7-5, 6-3 to ensure eight American men reached the third round at The Championships. The 21-year-old, who is making his Wimbledon debut, hit 30 winners to secure victory after two hours and 37 minutes. The World No. 34 will next meet Cristian Garin.

With seven Americans already though, Maxime Cressy or Jack Sock will make it eight, with the pair facing each other on Court 3.