In a season full of impressive victories, Taylor Fritz made another statement on Tuesday.

The American overpowered former World No. 1 Andy Murray 6-1, 6-3 to reach the second round of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. Fritz will next play countryman Frances Tiafoe.

“It’s an honour to be on the court with Andy,” Fritz said in his on-court interview. “Just to get the chance to play him, he’s been around, he’s been dominating since before I came on Tour and basically the whole time I’ve been on Tour, so it’s an honour just to play him.”

Throughout his illustrious career, Murray has found ways to turn matches around, especially against big hitters. His defense has stymied the best offensive players of his generation time and time again. But not Tuesday evening under the lights in Montreal.

Fritz showed no fear and consistently went for his shots, whether from neutral positions or on the full stretch. The 10th seed was unrelenting in his offence — winning a 14-minute game to break in Murray’s first service game — and he never looked back to improve to 31-12 on the season.

“You go through different parts of the season. Part of the hard-court season you have a good rhythm, then you go play on clay, then you go back to hard and it might not be the same,” Fritz said. “I haven’t always played well this part of the year before the US Open, so it feels really good this year, it just seems different. I’m playing good tennis right now.”

This year’s BNP Paribas Open champion, who is pursuing his second ATP Masters 1000 title, earned a break at 3-3 in the second set by jumping on a short second serve. Later in the rally, Murray dumped a forehand into the net.

The former World No. 1 battled hard as he always does, earning a chance to level the second set. Fritz quickly blunted that opportunity by crushing a forehand winner.

“There are a couple things I need to dial in. I think I could serve just a little bit better,” Fritz said. “But from the ground I felt great. I was being aggressive, attacking, changing [directions] off of both sides. I think I could go deep if I dial in a few things.”

Fritz’s next opponent, Tiafoe, suffered a heartbreaking late-night loss in Washington against Nick Kyrgios. He got back on track by rallying past Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi 6-7(6), 7-5, 6-3 after two hours and 36 minutes.

Fritz and Tiafoe have known each other since they were juniors. The former has won three of their four ATP Head2Head clashes, most recently triumphing in straight sets in the second round of this year’s Australian Open.

Did You Know?
Fritz is in ninth place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, 315 points behind eighth-placed Felix Auger-Aliassime. The American is trying to qualify for the Nitto ATP Final for the first time. 

Nick Kyrgios set a popcorn second-round meeting with World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev on Tuesday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, downing Sebastian Baez 6-4, 6-4 to earn his seventh consecutive win.

The Australian captured his seventh ATP Tour title in Washington last week and immediately found his rhythm in Montreal, outmanoeuvring the Argentine as he combined heavy-hitting with deft touch to advance after one hour and 25 minutes.

“Physically I feel fine. Mentally just so tired. I haven’t had much sleep the past couple of days, but I am trying to put that behind me already,” Kyrgios said in his on-court interview. “I am in Montreal and I haven’t played great tennis in Montreal in the past, so I wanted to come out here today and get that match up against Medvedev next. It will be a lot of fun. I just want to create some good memories in Montreal.”

The 27-year-old, who is up to No. 33 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings, has now won 12 of his past 13 matches, having advanced to his maiden Grand Slam final at Wimbledon last month.

Kyrgios will look to continue that run when he faces reigning champion Medvedev in the second round. The 27-year-old leads the top seed 2-1 in their ATP Head2Head series, however, Medvedev won their most recent meeting at the Australian Open in January.

“Medvedev is a hell of a player. His style is so unorthodox, he is a great competitor and he is just an animal,” Kyrgios added. “I am looking forward to seeing where I am at.”

Kyrgios is making his eighth appearance at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event this week, with his best result a run to the third round in 2015 and 2017.

The Australian was the more aggressive player throughout his match against Baez. He consistently hit through the Argentine when he stepped inside the baseline during their first-round clash. INSIGHTS In Attack show that Kyrgios spent double the time in an attacking position than did Baez.

INSIGHTS: IN ATTACK

_{^{Figure 1: In Attack score from 2022 Montreal first-round clash between Nick Kyrgios and Sebastian Baez.}}

The 21-year-old Baez has enjoyed a breakthrough season on the Tour, highlighted by his first title in Estoril in April. However, the World No. 32 was unable to cope with Kyrgios’ powerful hitting on debut in Montreal.

Matteo Berrettini made his National Bank Open Presented by Rogers debut on Tuesday, but Pablo Carreno Busta ensured it was a short one.

The Spaniard, who lost against Berrettini in straight sets in the fourth round of this year’s Australian Open, avenged that defeat with a 6-3, 6-2 victory in the first round in Montreal.

Berrettini is working his way back from March right hand surgery, which has limited him to just four tournaments since Indian Wells. Covid-19 also forced him to miss Wimbledon.

Carreno Busta took full advantage with a ruthless display of consistent aggression. The Spaniard prevented his opponent from finding a rhythm without risking too much himself. After securing a second service break in the second set, the 31-year-old let out a big roar knowing the finish line was in sight.

In a battle of former Top 10 players in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, Carreno Busta did not face a break point to triumph after one hour and 17 minutes. The six-time ATP Tour titlist will next play #NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune or Italian qualifier Fabio Fognini.

Tuseday’s action has begun at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers in Montreal, following a delay at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Canada due to rain.

Play began at 12:26 p.m. local time (EST) in Quebec, where 11th seed Matteo Berrettini is in action on Court Rogers against Pablo Carreno Busta. Wild card Vasek Pospisil is looking to channel the support of his home fans on Court Central, where the Canadian is taking on Tommy Paul. Before the weather intervened, both matches had been scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. local time.

Rain also interrupted Monday’s schedule in Montreal, where a packed Tuesday roster will see last week’s Washington champion Nick Kyrgios start his campaign against Sebastian Baez on Court Central. That match will be followed by 10th seed Taylor Fritz’s first ATP Head2Head meeting with former World No. 1 Andy Murray, while other seeded players in action include Hubert Hurkacz, Cameron Norrie and Gael Monfils.

Fresh off a three-week training block and his first title of the season in Los Cabos, Daniil Medvedev is poised to carry his momentum to Montreal for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, where he is the defending champion.

“I made a great preparation block of three weeks and worked a lot physically, because we know that the end of the season is never easy and I want to be 100 percent ready. I managed to feel great in Los Cabos,” Medvedev said at the weekend.

“I’m in great confidence right now. I played good matches (in Mexico). I feel very confident and I feel good for the next tournaments.”

The North American hard-court season is where the World No. 1 has played his best tennis. He enters this week boasting an 11-3 record at the ATP Masters 1000 event in Canada, where he reached the final in 2019 (l. Nadal) and won the title last year in Toronto (d. Opelka).

In the coming weeks Medvedev will try to defend his title at the US Open, where he took out Djokovic in the championship match to capture his maiden Grand Slam. Before he gets to New York, he knows that two big tournaments are at stake and he expressed the importance of having a strong month in North America.

“I’ve always played well at the US Open when I played well in the previous tournaments. It’s always important for me to build my confidence. Last year, I won in Toronto, semi-finals in Cincy…The year I won Cincinnati, I was in the final here in Montreal. I want to play well here, it’s very important.”

Montreal’s top seed is striving to capture his fifth Masters 1000 title, a victory that would help him fend off competitors who are coming for the World No. 1 Pepperstone ATP Ranking. Medvedev, 20-5 on hard courts this season, is already looking at the math.

“There are 4,000 points left for everybody to win in these three tournaments (Montreal, Cincinnati, US Open). That’s the maximum you can get. I would be happy to get the maximum. That’s what I’m going to try to do. But that’s tough.”

A former Nitto ATP Finals champion, Medvedev is fifth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, and has the chance to climb to fourth this week.

“I know in the Race (To Turin) Rafa is far ahead. I guess Carlos is also quite far. That also can change. It’s not something that is bothering my mind, but for sure I want to get a lot of points.”

The 14-time tournament winner’s opening match will be against Washington champion Nick Kyrgios, who is riding a seven-match winning streak and is gleaming with confidence.

Even Matteo Berrettini is surprised that, some five years after making his ATP Tour debut, he had yet to play the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

“I’m really looking forward to playing my first match here,” said the 26-year-old Italian ahead of Tuesday’s opener against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta. “I always joke with my team that I never had the chance to play here.”

Be careful what you wish for. Beyond the 23rd-ranked Carreno Busta lies potential matchups with the likes of Dane Holger Rune and perhaps even countryman Jannik Sinner.

“In a way, you should expect that in a 1000 like this all the matches are really tough,” said Berrettini, No. 14 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings. “The tricky part is going to be my first opponent. Pablo is a great player. It’s also a new tournament for me. Until you step on the court, you don’t really feel the atmosphere and everything. I’m curious about it.”

Berrettini topped Carreno Busta in their only previous encounter earlier this year in the Round of 16 at the Australian Open, winning, 7-5, 7-6(4), 6-4.

It hasn’t been an easy year for Berrettini. After Indian Wells, he sustained an injury to his right hand that necessitated surgery, forcing him to withdraw from the clay-court swing. Then, just when he was rediscovering his momentum — nine straight wins and back-to-back titles in Stuttgart and London — he tested positive for COVID-19 and was ruled out of Wimbledon.

“I started to think it was like a prank or something, a joke, because I was feeling pretty good,” said Berrettini. “It was really tough…I was by myself. I was quarantined. There wasn’t anybody to hug or watch a movie with. It was just me in my room trying not to think about what would happen, think about the future.”

In the end, Berrettini says he used the time to recharge and mentally prepare himself for the North American hard-court summer.

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Nick Kyrgios recently spoke of that “small window” of opportunity that comes part and parcel with a deep, second-week run at a major, that sudden locker-room swagger that can win you matches before you’ve even stepped out onto the court.

As the surging Canberran heads into the National Bank Open, he’s thrown that window wide open, sash and all.

A first-time Grand Slam finalist at 27, the Wimbledon runner-up is playing the most inspired tennis of his career. In addition to his exploits at SW19, where he became the first unseeded entrant to reach the final since countryman Mark Philippoussis in 2003, he notched consecutive semi-finals in Houston, Stuttgart and Halle, and on Sunday snapped a three-year-long title drought via a 6-4, 6-3 triumph over Yoshihito Nishioka in Washington. He also became also became the first player in the tournament’s 53-year history to sweep the men’s singles and doubles (with Jack Sock) in the same week.

“I felt like I was one of the best players in the world this year by far,” said Kyrgios, who opened 2022 at No. 93 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, but has since jumped to No. 37. “I feel like I have really kind of reinvented myself this year.”

When the Montreal draw was released, all eyes went to a potential second-round convergence between Kyrgios and the reigning World No. 1 and defending champion Daniil Medvedev, who last week bagged a title of his own in Los Cabos. But for that to come to fruition, Kyrgios will first have to get past promising young Argentine Sebastian Baez on Tuesday.

Kyrgios claimed their only previous encounter, a 6-4, 6-0 opener earlier this year in Indian Wells, but the 21-year-old Baez has since gone on to a career-high No. 31, claiming his first ATP title in Estoril (def. Frances Tiafoe, 6-3, 6-2) and reaching the final in Bastad (l. to countryman Francisco Cerundolo, 7-6(4), 6-2).

It’s already been a memorable summer for Brit Cameron Norrie, who in July punched through to his first major semiifinal at Wimbledon, and as the defending champion again reached the Los Cabos final (l. to Medvedev, 7-5, 6-0). Now one spot behind his career-high No. 10 ranking, the former Texas Christian University standout will look to break new ground on Canadian soil, where he has yet to advance beyond the second round.

Norrie will open his campaign when he takes on the talented 21-year-old Brandon Nakashima for the second time in a matter of weeks, having topped the American in the Round of 16 in Eastbourne, 6-4, 6-2, to up his ATP Head2Head advantage to 2-1.

Like Norrie, the former University of Virginia star Nakashima broke new ground at Wimbledon when he advanced to the fourth round of a major for the first time, and followed that with consecutive quarter-finals in Atlanta and Los Cabos.

It’s been nearly a decade-and-a-half since 13th seed Marin Cilic made his National Bank Open debut. The two-time quarter-finalist, 33, will open against Borna Coric in an all-Croatian affair on Court 9. He’s a spotless 7-0 versus his compatriot, his most recent win coming in the second round of this same event in 2018. A Roland Garros semi-finalist, Cilic returns to the court after sitting out Wimbledon due to Covid-19.

For the second year in a row at the National Bank Open, Canada’s Vasek Pospisil finds himself matched up against Tommy Paul in the first round. The home favourite hopes to exact revenge from a 6-7(5), 6-2, 6-3 loss to the American in that encounter, their only other meeting at the tour level.

Fellow Canadian wildcard Alexis Galarneau is matched up against 15th seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria. American Frances Tiafoe and Frenchman Benjamin Bonzi will go head to head for the second time in 2022, Tiafoe having claimed a tight 7-5, 7-5, 7-6(5) first-round win at Roland Garros.

Other notable matches on the schedule include: Gael Monfils vs. Pedro Martinez, and Newport champion Maxime Cressy vs. Aslan Karatsev, as well as the continuation of the rain-called Denis Shapovalov vs. Alex de Minaur affair, deadlocked at 3/3 in the second-set tiebreak. Originally scheduled for Monday, the much-anticipated match between Andy Murray and Taylor Fritz will kick off the night session on Centre Court.