Naomi Osaka powers into semis, to face Clara Tauson
TORONTO, Aug 6: Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton won in the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open, setting up the first all-American semifinal in an ATP Masters 1000 tournament in 15 years.
The second-seeded Fritz beat No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6 (4). He hit 20 aces, including one that finished off the match.
Shelton, the No. 4 seed, then beat No. 9 Alex de Minaur of Australia 6-3, 6-4.
The 22-year-old reached the semifinals of an ATP Masters 1000 tournament for the first time.
The matchup Wednesday between Fritz and Shelton will be the first time since Andy Roddick beat Mardy Fish at Cincinnati in 2010 that two American met in an ATP Masters 1000 semifinal.
Wednesday’s other semifinal will see top-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany, the 2017 tournament winner in Montreal, take on No. 11 Karen Khachanov of Russia. The final is Thursday.
Fritz came out firing in hazy and breezy conditions with three aces to win the first game.
He then broke Rublev in securing the match’s first eight points.
The 27-year-old American, fired two more aces to go up 4-1 before serving out the set.
Looking for his 11th ATP Tour victory – and second Masters 1000 crown – Fritz broke Rublev with the second set tied 4-4, but the Russian returned the favor to stay alive in the next game and went up 6-5 before Fritz forced the tiebreaker.
OSAKA IN SEMIS
Naomi Osaka powered into her first National Bank Open semifinal, beating No. 10 seed Elina Svitolina 6-2, 6-2.
Osaka advanced to face No. 16 seed Clara Tauson, who eliminated sixth-seeded Madison Keys 6-1, 6-4 in the first quarterfinal of the night.
Osaka, the four-time Grand Slam champion who reached No. 1 in the rankings, continued her best performance in a WTA 1000 tournament since reaching the final in Miami in 2022.
She stepped away from tennis for 15 months toward the end of that season and had daughter Shai in July 2023.
The native of Japan is seeking her eighth career title and her first since the 2021 Australian Open.
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko takes on ninth seed Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan in the other semifinal Wednesday.
Mboko, who’s playing in her first main draw at the National Bank Open, will rise into the WTA’s top 50 after beginning the year outside the top 300. (PTI)