World No. 10 Ben Shelton advanced to the Montreal semi-finals with a dominant victory over Czech teenager Jakub Mensik, setting up an all-American clash with Learner Tien.
The defending champion, the last top-10 player remaining in the tournament, dispatched Mensik without facing a serious challenge, winning in 72 minutes. Shelton struck 18 winners against just three unforced errors and has yet to drop a set in Montreal.
“It was a great performance for me, super happy with that and to be in the semis again,” Shelton said.
He will face Tien, who defeated Spain’s Daniel Merida 6-3, 6-2 in 72 minutes.
Shelton said he had been pleased with his performance from the opening point and hoped to maintain the same level in the semi-final.
The other men’s semi-final will feature Spain’s Rafael Jodar against American Brandon Nakashima.
Jodar reached the last four of an ATP Masters 1000 event for only the fifth time in his career after beating France’s Arthur Fils 7-6 (7/5), 6-3.
The 19-year-old, who will turn 20 after the US Open, has won 34 matches this season and climbed to 15th in the world rankings. He said improving his game remained more important than his ranking.
Jodar briefly appeared to hurt his ankle in the second set but continued without major difficulty. Fils, returning from injury, saved three match points in the final game before Jodar sealed victory with a winner.
Nakashima booked his place in the semi-finals with a 6-2, 6-3 win over Italy’s Luciano Darderi in 77 minutes. He secured three match points with his 11th ace before Darderi missed a drop shot.
The result marks the first time since 1992 that three American men have reached the semi-finals in Canada.
In the women’s draw, world No. 2 Elena Rybakina fought back from a set down to defeat four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka and reach the Toronto Masters semi-finals.
The reigning Australian Open champion from Kazakhstan prevailed 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 after a 2-hour, 33-minute battle, firing 13 aces.
“Super happy. It was a very difficult match,” Rybakina said, crediting her serve for helping her recover from a poor start.
She will face world No. 4 Coco Gauff, who advanced to her first Canadian semi-final without taking the court after Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic withdrew with a hip injury.
Gauff, the 2023 US Open and 2025 French Open champion, defeated Rybakina in their only previous meeting at the 2022 Toronto tournament.
Rybakina and Osaka were meeting for the first time on the WTA Tour. Osaka took the opening set after Rybakina double-faulted to surrender an early break.
The second set featured four service breaks, but Rybakina stayed ahead in the tie-break before forcing a deciding set with a forehand winner.
She then saved four break points in the sixth game and broke Osaka for a 4-3 lead after the Japanese star sent a forehand smash wide.
Rybakina closed out the match with an ace on her second serve and won all 18 of her first-serve points in the deciding set.
