Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Qualifier Terence Atmane Knocks Out US No.1 Taylor Fritz at Cincinnati Masters, Tiafoe Retires against Rune after Injury

Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Qualifier Terence Atmane made the biggest upset of the 2025 Cincinnati Masters as the Frenchman knocked out the ATP No. 4 Taylor Fritz 3-6, 7-5, 6-3 to get his biggest win of career. Atmane came back from a set down to defeat the world No. 4 in a three-set thriller. It was his first top-5 victory which helped him to reach the quarterfinals of the ATP 1000 Masters event.

LOOK WHAT IT MEANS 😊

World No.136 Terence Atmane records his first Top-5 win and reaches his first Masters quarter-final, 3-6 7-5 6-3 over Fritz. #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/rkaU5L13KY
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 14, 2025

Also Read: “Hungry to Go Beyond” – Jack Draper Sets US Open 2025 Injury Return Against Carlos Alcaraz and Jannik Sinner

Terence Atmane Comes from Set Down to Take Down Taylor Fritz

Taylor Fritz suffered one of the worst defeats of the career as he lost to a world No.136. The American ace made a fluent start to the match after taking the opening set 6-3. Second set was also going towards a crazy finish and Fritz had a chance to force the tiebreak but Atmane held the nerves to clinch the second set 7-5.

The Frenchman controlled the final set and led 5-3 and required to hold his serve to take the match. He won the game to take the final set 6-3 following the double-fault. It remains Taylor Fritz’s lowest-ranked defeat of the season.

THE BIGGEST WIN OF HIS CAREER ⭐️

Qualifier Terence Atmane becomes the lowest-ranked Cincinnati quarter-finalist since No. 152 Coric won the title in 2022! @CincyTennis | #CincyTennis pic.twitter.com/mMW1g1QerP
— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 14, 2025

“That’s a crazy win for my young career,” Atmane said. “So, definitely out of words right now. I was just believing in myself. I believed that I could beat Taylor Fritz tonight on Court 3, and this is what happened.”

Meanwhile, Atmane made his best run at the 1000 Masters event and the Frenchman also surged to top-100 for the first time. He is projected to rise to No. 93 in the next ATP rankings. The 23-year-old defeated world No. 22 Flavio Cobolli and No. 52 Joao Fonseca en route to the first quarterfinal at Masters event. Atmane will take on Holger Rune next in pursuit of the maiden Masters semifinal.

“This is just the beginning, and I need to work hard to stay consistent to rise in the rankings and keep going like this,” Atmane said.

In another game, 10th-seeded Frances Tiafoe suffered a big setback ahead of the US Open as he was forced to retire from his fourth-round match against Holger Rune due to a lower back injury. The home favourite once had a 3-0 lead in but dropped the opening set due to a lower back sprain. Tiafoe was unable to serve at full pace when Rune led 3-1 in the second set. Tiafoe decided to leave the game and Rune qualified for the quarterfinals.

Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

Cincinnati Open

Taylor Fritz

Terence Atmane

Gulshan Sharma

nba

soccer

wnba

A native of Jaipur, Rajasthan, journalist, and a complete soccer and basketball fan, he found the huge interest with basketball by watching videos of Allen Iverson and Tony Parker, but fell head over heels in love with the sport during the Warriors’ championship era (2015-2018). A sports game addict since his late PS1, he’s also passionate about the Eagles, Inter Miami and the Fever. He’s fortunate to have seen all his favorite teams win championships. He also has a special love for cricket and football (soccer), where he is a fan of Royal Challengers Bangalore and Barcelona.