Taylor Fritz beats Andrey Rublev to reach semifinals in Toronto
The second-seeded Fritz finished with 20 aces, including one that finished off the match. He will face the winner of the late quarterfinal between No. 4 Ben Shelton of the U.S. and No. 9 Alex de Minaur of Australia.
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, who sits fourth in the ATP Tour rankings and lost last year's U.S. Open final to No. 1 Jannik Sinner, 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.
Fritz lost in the Wimbledon semis to No. 2-ranked Carlos Alcaraz, who along with a host of top players including Sinner, No. 5 Jack Draper and No. 6 Novak Djokovic all skipped this hard-court event expanded to two weeks in 2025.
Rublev lost in last year's final to Australia's Alexei Popyrin, when the event was played in Montreal. The 27-year-old from Moscow made the fourth round of both Wimbledon and the French Open.
___
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
USA Today
21 minutes ago
- USA Today
Chase for FedEx Cup top 50 is in on — and Jordan Spieth, Wyndham Clark have work to do
Keegan Bradley had his bags packed in his Memphis hotel room and was resigned to the fact that his 2024 FedEx Cup run was over. But he had his TV tuned to the live tournament coverage, his phone on the PGA Tour app's live scoring and his iPad streaming a featured hole. Still, he couldn't believe how the stars aligned perfectly for him. Or rather, how things came crashing down for Tom Kim, who finished bogey, double bogey, double bogey at TPC Southwind, dropping from 46th to 51st in the FedEx Cup standings and allowing Bradley to sneak in at No. 50. 'At the last minute, I texted my caddie, 'Dude, I think we're going to finish in the top 50. I don't see how we don't,' ' recounted Bradley, who hitched a ride to the next event with fellow pro Billy Horschel. 'I went to Denver with this real big sense of relief.' Bradley exhaled, and everything changed. He had guaranteed his entry into all eight signature events this season, while Kim was admitted into none. The following week? Bradley won the BMW, made his way to Atlanta for the Tour Championship, finishing T-21, and even parlayed his late-season success into a captain's pick for the U.S. Presidents Cup team. Such is the fine line that exists on the PGA Tour. Spieth, Clark, Lee teetering on top 50 While 70 players qualified for the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, everyone is hoping to pull a Keegan Bradley because the magic number this week is 50 – that's how many players will survive and advance to the BMW Championship, and, more importantly, secure all eight signature events in 2026. Some notable pros are under the gun to produce this week, including three-time major winner Jordan Spieth at No. 48 in the FedEx Cup standings, 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark, who enters the week at No. 49, and the 'Bubble Boy,' Min Woo Lee at 50. Spieth played last week in hopes of improving his position, but finished T-31 at the Wyndham Championship and only treaded water. He knows he's in for a stressful week and that he has work to do to avoid missing the BMW for a second straight year. 'I didn't like asking for exemptions this year at all. I was fortunate to receive a lot of them, but you just never know,' he said. 'And when you miss out on elevated events, the way it's structured, they've got the best players in the world at all of them and you don't want to miss any of them.' Clark is in the same boat. Since missing the cut at the U.S. Open, he has climbed from No. 80 to No. 49. He's finished T-17 or better in four of his last five starts, and his T-4 at the British Open was his best result of his season. Clark also has positive vibes at TPC Southwind, where he finished T-7 last year. He'll need no worse than to finish 68th this week and still has positioning for East Lake on his mind plus Ryder Cup hopes to play for too. Australia's Lee sits on the bubble at No. 50 and his game has been ice cold since his win at the Children's Hospital Houston Open in late March. He missed the cut at the last three majors and has failed to record a top 10 since his win. Poston, Finau among those looking to climb Among those on the outside looking in are J.T. Poston, who has qualified for the BMW in each of the last three years, starts the week at No. 51. He's only recorded one top-10 finish all season and his seven top 25s are his fewest since 2020-21. Tony Finau at No. 60 is looking to stretch his streak of eight straight trips to East Lake for the Tour Championship, but he has work to do, as does Rickie Fowler at No. 64, who needs no worse than a T-17 finish. 'Good golf solves a lot of things,' he said. And that's what it takes to make it this far and beyond. 'It's becoming as challenging as ever to qualify for the playoffs and then BMW and Tour Championship, so, it's truly the best fields we can get in terms of who has played the best over the course of the whole season and I'm ready to get going,' said Justin Thomas, who enters the week at No. 5 in the standings. By Sunday, some players will rise to the occasion, others will benefit from some Keegan Bradley-like luck, and inevitably, there will be a player who experiences a Tom Kim-like meltdown. Last week, that player was Keith Mitchell, who made a 4-putt double bogey and missed a 7-foot putt on his final hole during the second round of the Wyndham Championship to miss the cut. He failed to make it to Memphis, but he succeeded in summing up how it hurts to come up just short of a season-long goal. "Gave it my all this year, probably too much, loads of pressure on myself to make the playoffs and top 50,' he said. 'We fight and fight and grind to give it our all and to finish like that is really just heartbreaking."
New York Post
21 minutes ago
- New York Post
Taylor Fritz vs. Ben Shelton best bets: ATP Toronto odds, picks, predictions
Gambling content 21+. The New York Post may receive an affiliate commission if you sign up through our links. Read our editorial standards for more information. The tennis calendar is relentless, and can make the sport feel like a bit of a chore at times, but there's nothing quite like it when it peaks. And it will do just that Wednesday night when the two best American players, Taylor Fritz and Ben Shelton, meet in the semifinals of the Canadian Masters in Toronto. This is just the second career meeting between Fritz and Shelton, with the first occurring in the first round of the Indian Wells Masters tournament in March 2023. This match should have a much different feel from that contest, which Fritz won in three sets, as both players have taken massive strides in their respective careers. ATP Toronto: Fritz vs. Shelton odds, predictions Player Odds Taylor Fritz -175 Ben Shelton +137 Odds via bet365 It's no surprise that Fritz is the favorite Wednesday night, given his edge in experience and his higher ranking, but some signals point to this match being closer to a coin flip than even these odds imply. At the beginning of the season, you'd argue that Fritz was a good role model for Shelton in how he could advance his career. Like the latter, the former burst onto the scene thanks to a massive serve, but his all-around game needed to catch up to his best weapon. Eventually, the rest of Fritz's game got to a point where he wasn't too reliant on his serve, and he's shot up the rankings because of that. Taylor Fritz is the betting favorite against Ben Shelton for Wednesday's semifinal. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect The Californian is ranked as the No. 4 player in the world (a career best), and has won 19 of his last 22 matches. It's been a banner 2025 campaign for Fritz, though he'd certainly like to add a second Masters title — and first since 2022 — to his mantle. Shelton's career has plenty of similarities to Fritz's, but he seems to be accomplishing things at a quicker pace. The former Florida Gator has established himself as a real threat at Grand Slams, and he's got a couple of titles already under his belt. The 22-year-old still can stand to be more consistent, but he's already solidified himself as a top-10 player, and a little more growth in his game could see him make a push for one of the top four seeds at Grand Slams in 2026. Get the lowdown on the Best USA Sports Betting Sites and Apps With both players in terrific form and no real fitness concerns to worry about, Wednesday's match points to a slobberknocker. Given that both combatants have all-world serves, we'll likely see a tiebreak or two, and that means that this match will likely be decided by a mistake, a break, or a bounce. If that is the case, then the value is with the underdog, Shelton, to come out on top in a long one. The Play: Shelton to win 2-1 (+350, bet365) Why Trust New York Post Betting Michael Leboff is a long-suffering Islanders fan, but a long-profiting sports bettor with 10 years of experience in the gambling industry. He loves using game theory to help punters win bracket pools, find long shots, and learn how to beat the market in mainstream and niche sports.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Yahoo
5 storylines to follow at the 2025 Cincinnati Open tennis tournament
The Cincinnati Open returns to Mason with a new two-week format and expanded player fields beginning on Tuesday, Aug. 5 from the Lindner Family Tennis Center. There are 96 players in both the WTA and ATP singles field this year, compared to 56 in 2024. This summer's fields include 119 total players who have won a title during their career and the top 56 players from both the men's and women's tours. Here are five storylines to watch for in Mason. 1. Will Cincinnati get an Alcaraz-Sinner showdown? The last four meetings between the ATP's top 2 players, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, have been in a tournament final. Sinner snapped a five-match losing streak to Alcaraz with a four-set win on Sunday, July 13 to claim the Wimbledon title. So far this year, Alcaraz has wins over Sinner in Rome and Roland Garros. Will they meet up in Cincinnati? Alcaraz was involved in the last Cincinnati final featuring the World No. 1 and No. 2 when he fell to Novak Djokovic in a thriller in 2023. Sinner is trying to become the first back-to-back Cincinnati men's singles winner since Roger Federer (2014-15), who won the tournament seven times. Alcaraz followed the runner-up finish in 2023 with an upset loss in the Round of 32 to Gael Monfils last summer in Cincinnati in what the Spaniard called the "worst match that I've ever played." 2. Can WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka defend Cincinnati Open title? WTA No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka enjoyed a breakthrough last summer in Cincinnati. The Belarusian did not drop a set and won 62 of 95 total games en route to winning her first hard-court title since 2020. Previously, Sabalenka suffered semifinal setbacks in Cincinnati three times (2018, 2022, 2023) and a pair of Round of 16 exits. Sabalenka is in the same boat as Sinner, trying to become the tournament's first repeat champion since a legend did it a decade ago. Serena Williams was the last to do it, going back-to-back in 2014-15. Sabalenka, one of six past Cincinnati Open champions in this year's field, has three titles this season, including a hard-court crown in Miami. 3. Will this be Novak Djokovic's final Cincinnati appearance? There have been retirement speculations surrounding 24-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic. Will this be his last appearance in Cincinnati? Local fans haven't seen Djokovic since the marathon win over Alcaraz in the 2023 final, which lasted a tournament-record 3 hours and 49 minutes. Last summer, Djokovic withdrew from the Cincinnati Open following the quick turnaround from his Gold Medal run at the Paris Olympics. Djokovic has reached the Cincinnati Open finals eight times and captured three titles (2018, 2020, 2023). 4. Iga Swiatek coming off Wimbledon domination This summer marks the first Cincinnati Open with a new WTA No. 1 since 2021. That year, Iga Swiatek was No. 8 and fell to Ons Jabeur in the Round of 32. Over the last three years, Swiatek has arrived in Warren County as the top-ranked WTA player but has suffered back-to-back semifinal defeats to the eventual champion (Sabalenka in 2024 and Coco Gauff in 2023). Swiatek made history in capturing her sixth Grand Slam title at Wimbledon. Her win over Amanda Anisimova marked just the second time in the Open Era that a Grand Slam winner did not drop a game (6-0, 6-0) in the final. Swiatek has reached the semifinals in two 1000-level, hard-court tournaments this year (Indian Wells, Qatar). 5. Will American tennis stars make a run at Rookwood Cup? Of the 37 nations represented in this year's Cincinnati Open, the United States has the largest contingent with 24 players. That includes a half-dozen players currently ranked in the top 10 in their respective tours. On the women's side, there have been two American winners since Williams went back-to-back: Madison Keys (2019) and Gauff (2023), both in the field this year. There's also No. 3 Jessica Pegula, the runner-up to Sabalenka in 2024 and No. 10 Emma Navarro, who has fell in the Round of 64 in Cincinnati in back-to-back years. It's been 19 years since the Cincinnati Open has seen an American win the men's singles title, when Andy Roddick claimed the 2006 crown. Last year, Frances Tiafoe was the first American to reach the Cincinnati Open men's singles final since 2013. There are two Americans in the ATP Top 10 in Taylor Fritz (No. 5) and Ben Shelton (No. 10). Shelton reached the Cincinnati quarterfinals in 2024, and Fritz is a two-time quarterfinalist (2022, 2023). This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: 5 storylines to follow at the 2025 Cincinnati Open tennis tournament
