Tennis News

Shelton wins hilarious match point to beat Bublik in Montreal

Ben Shelton defeated doubles partner Alexander Bublik 7-6(4), 6-2 in a first-round match that ended in hilarious fashion Wednesday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers.

The 11th-seeded American hit a backhand drop shot while holding three match points at 5-2 in the second set. Bublik darted towards the net and in a last-second effort, threw his racquet at the ball, making perfect contact. Though the shot did not count due to the racquet leaving Bublik’s hand, the ball landed on Shelton’s side, leaving the 21-year-old stunned. The pair of Top 25 players in the PIF ATP Rankings shared a laugh during a warm embrace at net.

Shelton, who will team the Kazakhstani later Wednesday in a second-round doubles showdown against Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner, overcame early forehand errors to record his first win in three Lexus ATP Head2Head meetings with Bublik. The two-time tour-level titlist raised his level when Bublik served for the opening set at 5-4 and rarely looked back to earn his career-best 27th match win of the season.

“I think the consistency in my tennis is improving every week,” Shelton said of his 8-0 first-round season record at ATP Masters 1000 level and higher. “I’m feeling more and more comfortable. I’m starting to feel more comfortable on the court against guys that I’ve had a lot of trouble with before. I think that my game is evolving every day. Surely not the player that I want to be in the future, but I think I’m moving the right way with a lot of things and finding identity on court.”

Up next for Shelton will be Australian Alexei Popyrin. The Australian downed Czech Tomas Machac 6-3, 6-4.

Shelton’s countrymen ninth seed Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul, a semi-finalist last year at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event, and Brandon Nakashima also advanced. The 26-year-old Fritz defeated Mariano Navone 6-4, 6-1.

“It was a solid match. I feel like the level, probably from both of us, went up a bit in the second set. We started playing longer points,” said Fritz, who struck 19 winners to the Argentine’s three. “The conditions are tough. The balls feel so hard to control, so kind of a lot of errors coming out from both sides. I started getting into the movement — moving side to side — just feeling a bit more normal on the court in the second set.”

Fritz will next play Washington champion and countryman Sebastian Korda, who led Vasek Pospisil 2-1 when the Canadian retired due to a back injury.

Paul, 27, scored a 6-4, 7-6(2) victory against Luciano Darderi. Into the second round, the 10th seed will face Nakashima, who ousted home favourite Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 7-5.

Through the first round 🙌@OBNmontreal | @TommyPaul1 | #OBN24 pic.twitter.com/FRVMItE4hD

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 7, 2024

Flavio Cobolli spoiled Felix Auger-Aliassime’s return to his home city, defeating the 14th seed 6-3, 6-2 on the eve of the Canadian’s 24th birthday. Cobolli, 22, arrived in Montreal at a career-high World No. 33 in the PIF ATP Rankings following last week’s run to the Washington final.

Thanasi Kokkinakis overcame a nervy ending to beat last year’s quarter-finalist Gael Monfils 6-3, 6-3. The Aussie dropped serve when serving for the match at 5-1, but kept his cool on his second attempt. Kokkinakis will face fourth seed Hubert Hurkacz on Thursday.

Ugo Humbert, seeded 12th, raced past fellow Frenchman Arthur Fils 6-2, 6-2 to improve to 10-2 against his countrymen since the start of 2023. The 26-year-old has defeated #NextGenATP Fils three times in that same amount of time.

Croatian Borna Coric earned a 6-4, 6-4 win against Pedro Martinez, setting a second-round encounter against World No. 1 Jannik Sinner. It will mark the qualifier’s second meeting with the Italian. Sinner beat Coric in three sets at the 2022 Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters.

The in-form Jordan Thompson, who this week cracked the Top 30 for the first time, defeated Jack Draper 7-5, 6-2. Matteo Arnaldi rallied past Mackenzie McDonald 4-6, 6-4, 6-4 and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat Roman Safiullin 6-2, 7-5.

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2024 US Open prize money

The US Open will offer a record $75 million in player compensation this year, with first-round prize money reaching $100,000 per player for the first time.

Early-round increases announced by the USTA cover both qualifying and the main draw of the hard-court Grand Slam in New York. The figure of $100,000 for reaching the first round is an increase of 72 per cent from five years ago, when it was $58,000. Those who lose in the final round of qualifying will this year take home $52,000, an increase of 63 per cent from when it was $32,000 in 2019.

There have also been increases in prize money for those players that go deep into the tournament. The men’s and women’s singles champions in New York will each receive $3.6 million, a 20 per cent increase from 2023. The singles finalists will earn $1,800,000.

The men’s doubles and women’s doubles championship teams will claim $750,000 per team. There has been a nine per cent increase in the total prize money for the men’s and women’s doubles draws from last year.

The year’s fourth and final major, the US Open will be played at Flushing Meadows from 26 August-8 September.

Men’s & Women’s Singles Prize Money

Men’s & Women’s Doubles Prize Money

Men’s & Women’s Singles Qualifying Prize Money

Mixed Doubles Prize Money

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Here's why Alcaraz & Sinner are second-serve standouts

Second serves are barely an asset.

The ATP Tour average is 51 per cent points won behind second serves. It’s only when you reach the rarified air at the top of the PIF ATP Rankings that you see the needle move in this all-important match metric.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of World No. 1, Jannik Sinner, and World No. 3, Carlos Alcaraz, identifies how they are able to create enough separation from their opponents to make a real difference behind their second serves. The data set is comprised of a minimum of 80 matches for each player over the past three seasons.

Second Serve Points Won

• Sinner = 54%
• Alcaraz = 55%

Sinner and Alcaraz only move three and four percentage points north of the tour average of 51%, but it’s enough to make a substantial difference to their careers. What’s fascinating is that Sinner and Alcaraz go about improving their average second-serve points won in different ways.

Deuce Court Second Serve Direction

Sinner
• Wide = 19%
• Body = 44%
• T = 37%

Sinner’s primary target is the body location, at 44 per cent. The majority of those serves go to the body-backhand slot, but a sizable total also test the returner’s body-forehand jam location as well.

Alcaraz
• Wide = 14%
• Body = 27%
• T = 59%

Alcaraz employs a vastly different strategy by taking almost six out of every 10 second serves right down the T to the right-hander’s backhand return, making them move sideways to the ball. On the other hand, Sinner’s second serve at the body is attempting to make the returner move away from the incoming serve directly at their body.

Ad Court Second Serve Direction

Sinner
• Wide = 19%
• Body = 63%
• T = 18%

Just like the Deuce court, Sinner prefers to go right at the body, with almost two out of three (63%) struck there. The big advantage of this location is that Sinner does not have to worry about the singles line or centre line on the sides of the service box.

Alcaraz
• Wide = 49%
• Body = 38%
• T = 13%

Alcaraz hits more than double (49% to 19%) the amount of second serves out wide in the Ad court compared to Sinner. The Spaniard prefers to hit a heavy kick that pulls his opponent outside the singles court. Alcaraz’s key locations in the Deuce and Ad court are all about getting the ball up high to the backhand return, while Sinner wants to immediately jam up his opponent and extract a weak return.

Unreturned Second Serves

In the Deuce court, both players have the most unreturned serves from their surprise second serves out wide to the right-hander’s forehand return. Alcaraz has 26 per cent unreturned from this specific spot, while Sinner was at 24 per cent.

That dynamic also played out in the Ad court, with both players forcing more return errors with the secondary serve down the T to the forehand. Alcaraz had a very healthy 29 per cent unreturned from the T in the Ad court, while Sinner was at 21 per cent.

Second Serve Win Percentages

Alcaraz won a head-turning 66 per cent second serves out wide in the Deuce court to lead all locations, while Sinner topped out at 62 per cent with his wide serve in the Ad court. At all six locations across the Deuce and Ad court service boxes, Sinner and Alcaraz were above the 50 per cent points won threshold.

Sinner and Alcaraz excel behind their second serves. It’s compelling to see the different serve locations they have mastered in their ascent to the pinnacle of our sport.

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Quick questions with Holger Rune: Special feelings & Montreal poutine

Many fans lined the exit of Court Central Tuesday evening in Montreal shouting Holger Rune’s name. Some wanted an autograph, others asked for a photo. There was enthusiastic support for the 21-year-old from Denmark, who had just defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 in the first round of the Omnium Banque National presente par Rogers.

Rune, who reached a career-high No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings last year, is competing in Montreal for just the second time. But he felt like a crowd favourite when he battled into the second round.

ATPTour.com caught up with the 13th seed, who will next play another Spaniard, Pablo Carreno Busta, for a round of quick questions with the Dane.

It was pretty cool hearing when they were yelling ‘Holger! Holger! Holger!’ Do you remember the first time any fans were cheering your name?
Yeah, it was many years ago. And it’s great. It feels very good with the support. It’s a special feeling. Being able to travel all over the world and hearing my name, it’s really cool. Playing the first round here on centre court means a lot, and it was a special occasion. I’m just happy I could reveal good enough tennis to get through.

Did you ever watch a primetime match when you were a kid in the stands?
Millions, millions. Well, not so many in the stands, but definitely almost every primetime match on TV. Even the non-primetime matches, I still was watching. So I was watching almost from Court 14 to centre court, almost every tennis match.

But also, I was privileged enough to travel to a few tournaments with my family. I went to the Stockholm Open when I was a kid. It’s cool to have these memories in the bag, and now to be there as a player.

Leaping into Round 2 🕺@OBNmontreal | #OBN24 pic.twitter.com/8mAgdRVRkv

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 7, 2024

Does any match stick out from Stockholm?
Yeah, I was watching… I’m quite sure it was actually [Gael] Monfils against [Milos] Raonic, which is quite funny, because I was supposed to play Milos tonight. I’m very, very young, and they’re still on the Tour, so it’s pretty cool to be able to share those moments with these players.

You’re off tomorrow. What does a day off in Montreal look like for Holger Rune?
We’ll go and eat a poutine. It’s a Canadian specialty food, which is apparently very, very good. I’ve heard that I should definitely eat that, but not on the match day, it’s too heavy. But it’s the same, honestly. Wake up, eat breakfast, do some physio work, mobility, prevention, practise, cool down, get ready for the next day. So it’s boring, but cool.

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Rune handles late matchup change, knocks off Bautista Agut in Montreal opener

After withdrawing from the Olympics with a wrist injury, Holger Rune made a successful return to competition with an opening win Tuesday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers. In his first hard-court match since Miami, Rune dominated early and late in a 6-2, 3-6, 6-2 victory against lucky loser Roberto Bautista Agut.

Now 13-2 in his opening rounds this season, including 6-1 on hard courts, Rune will next meet Pablo Carreno Busta or Fabian Marozsan at the Montreal ATP Masters 1000.

“It was a challenge for sure,” Rune said. “It’s never easy coming back after a little break — not the longest break, but for me, I’m very young and luckily I haven’t been injured much. It was difficult but I think I managed to find the rhythm quickly. I didn’t manage to sustain it in the second set. He played good, was feeling free. It was kind of an extra chance that he got to play a match. Happy that I could get through.”

Holger moves 🔛

Rune takes his first win in Montreal with a 6-2 3-6 6-2 win against Bautista Agut 🔥@OBNmontreal | #OBN24 pic.twitter.com/y44iEtqZWi

— ATP Tour (@atptour) August 7, 2024

Just minutes before the match, Bautista Agut replaced Milos Raonic, who withdrew with a shoulder injury. The Spaniard played two matches and six sets Tuesday, competing for more than five hours across defeats to Thanasi Kokkinakis in qualifying and Rune in the main draw.

“It was kind of tricky. It’s two completely different game styles,” Rune said of the late change. “I kind of had to adjust from one tactic to another in five minutes. Luckily I played Bautista before so I had a clue, and obviously he’s been on Tour for many years, so I know him very well.

“It was not easy. I was expecting a big server and trying to manage to get in the rallies with Milos, and now it was a completely different story. I needed to attack much more and play on my terms.”

Rune did just that, hitting 39 winners in the two-hour match, according to Infosys ATP Stats. The victory improved his record to 2-0 in his Lexus ATP Head2Head series against Bautista Agut.

At No. 17 in the PIF ATP Rankings, Rune is seeking his first title of the season this week in Montreal. His best result of 2024 is a runner-up finish in Brisbane.

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Raonic withdraws from Montreal

Milos Raonic withdrew from the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers on Tuesday evening due to a shoulder injury.

“I tried to warm up for my match today. The thing that was the most difficult was to serve,” Raonic said. “I don’t think I would have been able to be competitive by any means. I can manage a lot of things, but without serving, that would be a tough day for me.”

The former No. 3 player in the PIF ATP Rankings was preparing to play in Montreal for the first time since 2019. He most recently competed in the Paris Olympics, where he lost his opening singles match in a final-set tie-break to Dominik Koepfer.

“It came up initially right when I came here on hard courts after the clay,” Raonic said. “I was playing points the other days, and I was kind of having a similar feeling. Took some days off trying to feel better about it. It just wasn’t anywhere close to where I need it to be.”

Thirteenth seed Holger Rune will face lucky loser Roberto Bautista Agut.

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Draper/Sinner, Medvedev/Safiullin advance in Montreal

Jack Draper and Jannik Sinner led a charge of singles stars who held the advantage against doubles specialists Tuesday at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers.

As part of the ATP doubles trial, teams of singles players are pitted against specialist doubles teams in the first round. Draper and Sinner headlined the action by defeating 16th seeds Sander Gille and Joran Vliegen 6-0, 6-7(3), 10-8 in front of a packed Court 9.

Despite trailing 4/7 in the Match Tie-break, the British-Italian pair won six of the final seven points to advance. They dropped just four points behind their first serves, according to Infosys ATP Stats, throughout the one-hour, 23-minute match.

Draper and Sinner’s next opponents are a pair of fellow Top 30 singles players. They will face Alexander Bublik and Ben Shelton, who advanced after a freak injury to their opponents Harri Heliovaara and Henry Patten.

The Wimbledon champions were serving at 4/2 in the first-set tie-break and were holding their ground at net, cleanly hitting volleys in response to monstrous forehands from Shelton. When the American opened the face of his racquet for a backhand, both the lefty Patten and right-hander Heliovaara prepared for an overhead.

Then, the Finnish-British duo had a nasty collision that left both players visibly shaken. Heliovaara sat on the court for nearly a minute while Patten held his head and grimaced. They later retired after suffering symptoms of concussions while trailing 7-6(6), 2-1.

“Obviously initially it hurt quite a lot, and then I think it slowly became clear that we were a little bit concussed, which is what the doctor and the physio said, picked up a concussion,” Patten said. “Unfortunate, kind of a freak accident. Hopefully we’ll be okay. But yeah, just glad that it wasn’t worse, and we’re good. We’ll rest a little bit and look forward to Cincinnati.”

Daniil Medvedev and Roman Safiullin advanced with a 6-4, 6-3 victory against 11th seeds Ivan Dodig and Jean-Julien Rojer. Medvedev and Safiullin earned their first team win across four attempts this season.

<img src=”/-/media/images/news/2024/08/06/21/40/medvedev-safiullin-montreal-2024-tuesday.jpg” style=”width:100%;” alt=”Daniil Medvedev lunges for a volley as Roman Safiullin looks on during their Tuesday victory in Montreal.” />
^{Daniil Medvedev lunges for a volley as Roman Safiullin looks on during their Tuesday victory in Montreal. Credit: Peter Staples/ATP Tour}

Max Purcell and Jordan Thompson raced past home hopes Felix Auger-Aliassime and Alexis Galarneau 6-0, 6-1. The 12th seeds next face Italians Simone Bolelli and Andrea Vavassori, who defeated Canadians Vasek Pospisil and Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 6-3.

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Tsitsipas, Rublev among chasing pack eyeing Live Race boost in North America

After seven months of the 2024 season, a seven-pronged battle for eighth place has emerged in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin.

The world’s top players are preparing for an ATP Masters 1000 doubleheader at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal and the Cincinnati Open. Several members of the chasing pack will be keen to give a mid-season boost to their chances of booking a spot at the 2024 Nitto ATP Finals, to be held in Turin from 10-17 November.

With plenty of points available across Montreal and Cincinnati, the Live Race may well look completely different in two weeks’ time. As things stand, just 575 points separate Stefanos Tsitsipas in eighth (the final qualification spot for the prestigious season finale) and 14th-placed Lorenzo Musetti.

PIF ATP Live Race To Turin

The champion on his Nitto ATP Finals debut in 2019, Tsitsipas is chasing his sixth consecutive appearance at the season-ending showpiece. He lifted his third Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters crown in April but has not won a match at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers since 2021. He reached the final on event debut in Toronto in 2018, however, and is also a former Cincinnati finalist (2022). Tsitsipas knows that a big two weeks in North America could distance himself from the chasing pack.

In ninth and 10th, respectively, Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul will hope that a return to familiar territory can help them make inroads towards Turin qualification. Fritz, who is 135 points behind Tsitsipas, has not been past the third round in five appearances at the Canadian Masters 1000, but he is a two-time Cincinnati quarter-finalist and has a habit of raising his game on home soil: the 26-year-old won his first Masters 1000 crown in Indian Wells in 2022.

Paul defeated then-World No. 1 Carlos Alcaraz en route to his maiden Masters 1000 semi-final in Toronto last year. Despite holding a moderate 5-5 record in Cincinnati, the three-time ATP Tour champion is playing some of the best tennis of his career and will view the return to hard courts as a big opportunity to push his claim for a Turin debut.

Like Tsitsipas, 11th-placed Andrey Rublev has established himself as a Nitto ATP Finals regular. The No. 8 in the PIF ATP Rankings has had a topsy-turvy 2024, but he remains in contention for a fifth consecutive appearance at the season finale. He will hope to build on his quarter-final run in Washington last week with a deep run in Montreal, where he has not won a match across two previous appearances.

Currently in 12th, former Cincinnati titlist Grigor Dimitrov is bidding to return to the Nitto ATP Finals for the first time since he triumphed on his only previous appearance in 2017. Just 185 points behind the Bulgarian in 13th is his good friend Hubert Hurkacz. Both players have enjoyed consistent seasons so far and have each won an ATP Tour title (Dimitrov in Brisbane, Hurkacz in Estoril).

Jannik Sinner, who is the top seed in Montreal, leads the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin and is in a strong position to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals. Could 14th-placed Musetti give home fans a second Italian contender to cheer on in November in Turin?

The 22-year-old Musetti has enjoyed a stellar summer and has won 22 of 28 matches since the start of Roland Garros in late May. He reached his maiden Grand Slam semi-final at Wimbledon in July and last week claimed bronze at Paris 2024, Italy’s first medal at the Olympic Tennis Event in 100 years. Although he is 7-9 on hard courts this year, Musetti’s recent surge will ensure he takes to court for his Montreal debut full of confidence.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

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Hurkacz's 'Iron Man' effort to return from meniscus surgery in three weeks

One of the most difficult moments to watch at Wimbledon was the end of Hubert Hurkacz’s second-round match against Arthur Fils. People say a picture is worth a thousand words and that was the case looking at the pain of the Polish star’s face.

The 27-year-old dove for a ball, giving his absolute maximum effort as he always does. When Hurkacz tried to get up from the awkward position he was in, he tore the meniscus in his right knee and retired late in the fourth set.

A video that Hurkacz later posted showed the eight-time ATP Tour titlist sitting on a bench next to ball kids in the immediate aftermath sporting a look of concern, with a hand on his knee.

“Right after I knew something happened because it was painful and we needed to figure out how bad it was and just get as much information [as we could],” Hurkacz told ATPTour.com. “It was difficult because after the scan I didn’t know when I was going to be back, if I was going to be playing this year or if I was going to reach my normal level. So it was definitely a challenging time.”

Hurkacz spoke to several doctors, almost all of whom said he would be out of competition until next year. Yet after undergoing surgery and working through an intensive rehab process with his physio Kuba and fitness coach Przemek, Hurkacz is ready to compete this week at the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers in Montreal.

When Hurkacz hurt himself, coach Craig Boynton was not entirely sure of the extent of the injury.

“Initially, when it happened, I thought he was cramping. He was talking in Polish to the physio, and the physio said to me, ‘He needs to stop’. I was clueless as to what was going on,” Boynton said of the Montreal fourth seed. “As things unfolded, he got the MRI, found out it was the meniscus, and then going forward, what was the best plan of action?

“He handled all that in Poland with part of the team there, the physical team. He had the surgery done, and to say the boys worked diligently would be an understatement, to get him to where he is right now. He worked so hard, Iron Man hard. It was crazy how much he did just to get back here in three to four weeks, to get to the point where we’re actually competing.”

Hurkacz underwent surgery on 15 July. The next day he began rehab and within a week he was back on court doing movement work. On Monday, three weeks later, he was walking around Parc Jarry in Montreal with his trademark smile.

“It definitely makes you appreciate what you’re doing, not having a chance or a possibility to do it for a while,” Hurkacz said. “I knew I couldn’t really move on the court, so the Olympics was unfortunately out of the window. I was dreaming of playing there for the whole year, but I just knew that it just was not going to be possible. The wounds were still not healed. I just couldn’t be going there. It was too much of a risk and also I couldn’t move on the court, so it was just not going to work.”

Before undergoing surgery and throughout his rehab, Hurkacz has been in touch with medical professionals and other athletes from both inside and outside of tennis. One of them was Novak Djokovic, who tore his meniscus at Roland Garros, then made the Wimbledon final and claimed the Olympic singles gold medal in Paris.

“Definitely just really inspiring what he did, especially winning the gold medal,” Hurkacz said. “I also texted Novak. He was really, really supportive and helpful as well and it just was a different situation, it was a difficult situation trying to make the decision. At the end I knew I needed to have surgery.”

What was challenging for Hurkacz beyond the rehab itself was not knowing when he would be fit to compete. Now that he is ready for matches, his coach, Boynton, explained that is an evolving process to tinker with.

“You see what he can do, you see what maybe he is more limited in and you just deploy the weapons and the assets in a different mindset compared to if everything is 100 per cent,” Boynton said. “That’s where the practice gets involved. That’s where it is talking about where he is feeling that he can make improvements and where he thinks he wants to kind of stay away from, and that is just the management.”

Boynton added: “I’m happy for him that he can do the things that he loves, and we’re here. Now we just have to be smart about how we go forward and just see. The matches will dictate what needs work in every way.”

Hurkacz is known for his smile, and that has been the case more than ever since his arrival in Montreal. He has appreciated every moment on site, from seeing the fans to practising.

“It felt really long. It felt like so many things happened since the time I was on the court previously,” Hurkacz said. “There are so many things we went through as a team and many difficult decisions. It just really makes you appreciate what you’re doing daily and sometimes you might get lost because you’re just constantly pursuing to get better, to win matches, to try to win the tournaments and win the Grand Slams. You don’t really appreciate the moment at some point and now I really had a moment to pause and reflect.”

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Nishikori earns biggest win since ‘21, next faces Tsitsipas in Montreal

Kei Nishikori showed flashes of his vintage best Tuesday when he overcame #NextGenATP teen Alex Michelsen 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 in the first round of the Omnium Banque National présenté par Rogers.

By defeating the World No. 55 Michelsen, it marks the 34-year-old’s first win at ATP Masters 1000 level since 2021 Indian Wells and his highest-ranked victory since Washington that year.

“It’s been a long time,” Nishikori said with a smile in his on-court interview. “It means a lot, especially the way I played in the third set. First and second set, many ups and downs and I was missing a lot of balls. Third set, I was playing pretty good tennis I think, good defence and when I needed to, I was having good movement and playing aggressive. It was working really well.”

Nishikori consistently struck deep returns to pressure the 19-year-old American’s serve, converting four of his 12 break chances. The former World No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings earned a decisive break to clinch the second set and repeated that feat to close the match after two hours, 33 minutes. Competing in his fifth tournament this year across all levels, Nishikori crushed 22 forehand winners, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I just needed to keep believing in myself, that’s the only thing I can do. To be aggressive, start hitting more forehands and backhands [down the] line. I think that started working well in the second set,” said Nishikori, who has won 12 tour-level titles.

The 2016 finalist, making his ninth appearance at the Canadian Masters 1000 tournament, will next face eighth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas. It will mark their third Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting. Nishikori won their first encounter in the 2018 Tokyo quarter-finals. The Greek earned revenge in Miami three years later.

In other Tuesday action, Lorenzo Sonego advanced with a 7-6(7), 5-7, 6-4 victory against Tallon Griekspoor.

Did You Know?
Among active players, Nishikori owns the highest deciding-set winning percentage (149-57, .723), according to the Infosys Win/Loss Index.

“It means a lot, especially the way I played in the 3rd set. 1st and 2nd, I was many up and downs, and I was missing a lot of balls, but 3rd set I was playing pretty good tennis, GOOD DEFENCE”.

Good defence indeed @keinishikori 👏 pic.twitter.com/fbRv3s9GjO

— Tennis Insights (@tennis_insights) August 6, 2024

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