Tuesday’s action from the National Bank Open in Toronto delivered fireworks as Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton punched their tickets to an all-American semifinal clash.
In the first set of his quarterfinal match against Alex de Minaur, Shelton was able to break early before then coasting to a 6-3 first-set win over the No. 9-seeded Aussie, who entered the tournament fresh off an ATP 500 title in DC.
In the second, both players traded breaks early, with Shelton drawing first blood before De Minaur immediately returned the favor. With the second-set score leveled at two games apiece, Shelton again managed to break thanks, in part, to a double fault from De Minaur.
After consolidating, Ben Shelton went on to win the set 6-4.
Following the match, Shelton reflected on the win during his TennisTV interview, saying:
“I think that a lot of guys see me as just a server, someone who can serve and not as much of a baseliner or a grinder, and for me, I think psychologically when I go into a match and I go lockdown mode and put a billion balls on the court, and my normal rally ball does come with a good bit of weight, it’s not like I’m just pushing it in on the court, I think it surprises guys sometimes.”
Shelton, whose game seems to thrive in the hot, humid conditions at the National Bank Open, now advances to his second Masters 1000 semifinal.
Taylor Fritz Cruises Past Andrey Rublev in Straight Sets
After a hard-fought win over Jiri Lehecka on Sunday, Taylor Fritz picked up a straight-set win over No. 6-seeded Andrey Rublev in just 82 minutes.
For Fritz, the win marked arguably his most impressive performance of the week, with Rublev entering the match following a win over recent Citi DC Open finalist Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the Round of 16.
Despite that, Fritz’s serve proved to be the difference maker, with the top-seeded American recording 20 Aces to Rublev’s six.
Additionally, much like he did against Lehecka on Sunday, Fritz was able to come up big when he needed it most, edging out a tiebreak in the second to stave off a potential third-set comeback from Rublev.
After the win, Fritz reflected on the second set during his TennisTV on-court interview, saying:
“He was holding easy, I was holding easy, it just felt like so calm and chill, and then all of a sudden I’m serving to be in the semis. It kinda came out of nowhere, the pressure of that game.”
You can see some highlights from the match below, courtesy of Tennis Canada:
National Bank Open Schedule in Toronto
Following Tuesday’s quarterfinal action from Toronto, semifinal action will begin on Wednesday instead of players having a day off between matches.
As Ben Shelton indicated during a post-match press conference earlier in the week, competing on back-to-back days allows players to get into a better rhythm, meaning tomorrow’s two semifinal matches should deliver fireworks.
Currently, Alexander Zverev and Karen Khachanov are scheduled to open up Wednesday’s Center Court action at 4 p.m. PT (7 p.m. ET), with Fritz and Ben Shelton then set to play immediately after.
The two semifinal winners will then collide on Thursday before heading off to Cincinnati, where Masters 1000 action will resume once again this weekend.
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