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Daniel Evans was being played off the court by a red-hot Tommy Paul in the pair's Montreal quarter-final on Friday evening. But the workmanlike Briton kept the faith in his steady game to advance to his second career ATP Masters 1000 semi-final with a hard-fought 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

"The crowd, that's what they buy their tickets for. That's live sport," Evans said in his post-match press conference. "You never know what's going to happen. It was an amazing match, amazing atmosphere. I played on the court before. In the day it was amazing, but at night, there's something about playing sport at night, it's extra special."

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After Paul filled up the highlight reel with his pace and powerful ground game early on, Evans capitalised on the slightest of openings in sets two and three to win both by a single break. The 32-year-old secured an early lead in the deciding set, then crucially escaped 15/40 to move within one game of victory at 5-3.

Evans saw a match point go begging in spectacular fashion on return and absorbed one last Paul backhand pass on serve before completing the turnaround by expertly backing up strong serving in the clutch.

Daniil Medvedev is two Western & Southern Open wins away from securing his status as World No. 1 through the US Open, but a dangerous group of players could stand in his way in Cincinnati, Friday's draw revealed.

The top seed will open against either Maxime Cressy or Botic van de Zandschulp before a potential third-round meeting against one of 16th seed Grigor Dimitrov, Denis Shapovalov, Tommy Paul or Jenson Brooksby. Should Medvedev reach the quarter-finals, he could get a chance to avenge his Montreal loss to Nick Kyrgios, who meets Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the opening round and could see 11th seed Taylor Fritz following that.

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Rafael Nadal, set for his first competitive action since an abdominal tear forced him to pull out of Wimbledon, could pass Medvedev at the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings if he wins the Cincinnati title and his rival fails to reach the quarter-finals. Seeded second, the Spaniard will face Borna Coric — who entered the draw with a protected ranking — or a qualifier in his first match.

Seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime is also lurking in Nadal's bottom quarter. The Canadian will open play against the winner of one of the standout first-round matchups between Alexander Bublik and Alex de Minaur.

Third seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski rallied from a set down to defeat Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 in Montreal Friday and consolidated their lead in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. The duo avenged its Hamburg loss to Glasspool and Heliovaara to advance to the semi-finals at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.

The five-time champions in 2022 (Melbourne, Adelaide 2, Doha, Madrid, and ‘s-Hertogenbosch) are looking for their second ATP Masters 1000 title of the season.

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Also advancing to the semi-finals were two-time Roland Garros champions, Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, who took down Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar 6-2, 7-5. The Germans will clash against Koolhof and Skupski, a rematch of the Barcelona final, which Krawietz and Mies won in a deciding match tie-break.

Krawietz and Mies are chasing their third title of the season, but their first since the clay season, when they won back-to-back trophies in Barcelona and Munich.

One day after playing what he called one of the best matches of his career, Felix Auger-Aliassime's Montreal campaign came to a disappointing end in Friday's quarter-finals. Playing in the city of his birth, the Canadian was swept off Court Central 6-1, 6-2 by fourth seed Casper Ruud.

"It's super disappointing to lose any tournament like this, and especially here," Auger-Aliassime said in his post-match press conference, giving full credit to his opponent. "This is a tournament we don't play every year, so it's always special for me to play here," he later added.

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It was the World No. 9's first quarter-final appearance at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, which alternates between Toronto and Montreal each season. Auger-Aliassime had thrilled his home fans this week with victories against Yoshihito Nishioka and ninth seed Cameron Norrie, but came undone against Ruud at the ATP Masters 1000.

"I've been thinking since the match ended what happened," he said. "I think I have to see. Maybe my expectations were a bit too high from yesterday [a 6-3, 6-4 win against Norrie] and I was trying to repeat that instead of just living with what I had, just fighting with all the tools that I had today, fighting with my opponent today."

As the sun set on a brutally humid evening in Atlanta late last month, a young American star was rising in front of Tour-veteran John Isner’s eyes: 19-year-old Ben Shelton. The 6’ 10” six-time tournament champion and former World No. 8 toiled for two hours, 24 minutes before eking out a 7-6(8), 4-6, 7-6(3) victory, that left a strong impression on the elder statesman of American tennis.

“He’s an incredible talent. I watched him play a-year-and-a-half ago in college and saw how athletic and talented he is,” Isner said. “I’m going to be a big fan of his in the future… Truthfully, I don’t see myself beating him anytime in the future. I hope I don’t have to play him again.”

Two weeks before his Tour-level debut, Shelton made his first ATP Challenger Tour final in Rome, Georgia, but fell short against China’s then-highest-ranked player, Wu Yibing.

The teenager has been building upon his NCAA singles title in May, reaching four semi-finals of the five Challenger Tour events in which he has competed. A week after completing his sophomore season at the University of Florida, the lefty reached the last four at the Challenger Tour event in Little Rock, Arkansas (just the second of his career).

"When I went to Little Rock, I started to believe more in myself and my abilities, that I could hang with the guys that are ranked 150 in the world or 250 in the world and that gave me a little confidence.”

Tennis fans, we need your help in selecting which #ATP50 Game Changing moments to feature in our August issue of the ATP Tour Insider newsletter!

Which is your favourite rivalry from the past 50 years of the ATP? Will it be the modern matchups between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, or perhaps John McEnroe against Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg or Ivan Lendl, or Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras?

Which hot shot wowed you the most? Who has your vote for most courageous comeback? From the 1972 World Championships Tennis Finals clash between Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver, to Andy Murray’s phenomenal performance at the 2016 season finale to clinch World No. 1, which final had you on the edge of your seat? 

Check out our immersive ATP 50 features – you’ll especially want to see all the hot shots in full – before making your picks. Each category has 10 choices, and we want you to select your top three.

* 10 Memorable Title Matches In ATP History
* There Will Always Be Hot Shots
* 10 Defining Rivalries In ATP History
* 10 Courageous Comebacks

Casper Ruud reached his third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of the season Friday, when he capitalised on a misfiring performance from Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime to advance 6-1, 6-2 in Montreal.

The fourth seed recovered from dropping serve in the opening game as he played the more consistent and aggressive tennis throughout the clash on Court Central, with home favourite Auger-Aliassime leaking errors from both wings.

The 23-year-old committed nine unforced errors in the match compared to Auger-Aliassime’s 25, while he hit with great accuracy to pull around the Canadian, who looked nervous in his first Masters 1000 quarter-final at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

“It was one of those days where everything goes in one favour and luckily it was in my favour. With a player like Felix, you need to rely on some margins going your way. I didn’t expect them to all go on my side,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “It was a bit of a difficult start. I got broken but then was able to turn everything around. I hit my spots, made the shots I needed to and make him hit a lot of balls. That was the game plan and it worked well.

”I am sure Felix has played better than he has today. He has for sure, I have seen it before. It is a pity because he is playing at home. Maybe that was a factor, you could be nervous, but I am not going to talk for Felix. It was a big moment. This arena was full today and I am lucky I was able to win.”

Hubert Hurkacz survived an attacking bombardment from Nick Kyrgios to reach his fourth ATP Masters 1000 semi-final on Friday in Montreal, overcoming the Australian 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-1 on Court Central.

In an absorbing clash at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, the Pole adjusted to the 27-year-old’s quick play on serve, while he delivered decisive blows from his own strings to advance after one hour and 46 minutes and improve to 31-13 on the season.

“Nick has been playing some incredible tennis throughout the past weeks, so it is a pleasure playing against him,” Hurkacz said in his on-court interview. “I hope the fans enjoyed it as well, but I am happy with the result in the end.”

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Last week’s Washington champion Kyrgios entered the match in red-hot form, having won 15 of his past 16 matches, with his only defeat coming against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.

Opportunity is knocking for Casper Ruud as he readies for the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers Friday for the second consecutive year. Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas, all summarily dismissed on an upset-filled Wednesday in Montreal, are out, leaving the Norwegian as the highest-remaining seed.

“It will be interesting to see what’s going to happen. I will be here tomorrow fighting for a place in the semi-finals,” said the Norwegian, who improved to 37-13 on the year with a 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 turnaround against Roberto Bautista Agut, his first win over the Spaniard in three attempts. “I guess I’m the highest-ranked still standing, still surviving, but it will be a new match tomorrow.”

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The Roland Garros finalist will go up against homegrown favorite Felix Auger-Aliassime, who, with a 6-3, 6-4 dismissal of ninth seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, became the first Quebecois to reach the final eight in his native Montreal.

“Montreal people, French Canadians, are really proud people. We’re a small community in the world and we support each other in everything we do,” said Auger-Aliassime, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Monday. “Especially in professional sports, I think whenever you see an athlete coming from the province of Quebec do things on the world stage, people are very proud. It makes me proud to be in that position, for sure.”

Jack Draper's dream debut continued on Thursday in Montreal, but it was an injury nightmare for Gael Monfils in the pair's third-round match.

The #NextGenATP Briton led 6-2, 0-2 on Court Central when Monfils suffered a foot injury in what was his first ATP Tour appearance since Madrid in May. The Frenchman appeared to reaggravate an issue for which he underwent a small procedure later that month.

After a medical timeout, Monfils stepped back on the court with intentions to play, but retired before hitting another ball after a courtside discussion with his team.

"I know what it's like to do an ankle," a subdued Draper said post-match. "I did one last year and rebounded. I hope Gael is alright. I wish him all the best for the rest of the season. I guess to be in the quarter-finals is nice for myself, but it's never how you want it to happen."

After upsetting third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas late Wednesday night to earn his first Top 10 win, Draper backed it up with a clean opening set against Monfils. He did not face a break point in the opener and converted on his two chances to ease into the lead.

One day after beating World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, Nick Kyrgios maintained his sky-high level in Montreal to breeze past follow Aussie Alex de Minaur on Thursday.

In a 6-2, 6-3 victory, the Washington champion took flight early as he overwhelmed his opponent to win the first four games in 11 minutes. With his forehand firing, Kyrgios won 17 of the first 21 points to set the tone on Court Rogers, the match having been moved from Court Central due to afternoon rain.

"Incredibly tough after yesterday's big high, playing Daniil, and the crowd was amazing. It was a day I'll probably never ever forget," Kyrgios said of his upset win.

"Today was really hard mentally for me to go out here and play Alex," he continued. "We're such good friends and he's been having such a good career so far and carrying the Australian flag for so long. It was just tough mentally. It's never easy to play a player like that, especially if they're Australian.

"I just got out here and got the job done. I played the way I had to play. He's a hell of a player. If you play to his strengths, he's one of the best players we have in the game and he's so fast. He's going to have a hell of a career."

Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime demonstrated his title credentials in Montreal Thursday, downing Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals on home soil for the first time.

The 22-year-old brought the home crowd to their feet throughout his 72-minute victory as he blasted the ninth-seeded Brit off the court to improve to 5-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.

In a dominant display, Auger-Aliassime targeted Norrie’s forehand with his watertight groundstrokes, while he demonstrated great footwork, dancing around his backhand to paint the lines with his forehand.

“I have gone one step further than I did here three years ago. Montreal people are really proud people. We are a small community in the world. We support each other in what we do, especially in professional sport,” Auger-Aliassime said in his on-court interview. “When you see an athlete come from the province of Quebec and do big things, people are very proud. It makes me proud to be in that position.”

The sixth seed, who lost to Norrie in the Los Cabos semi-finals last week, is making his fourth appearance at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers and will next play Norway’s Casper Ruud as he looks to win his first ATP Masters 1000 crown. With his victory, Auger-Aliassime is up to seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin.

Casper Ruud continued his quest for a first ATP Masters 1000 title Thursday, rallying past Roberto Bautista Agut 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals in rainy Montreal.

The Norwegian recovered from a slow start as he upped his intensity in the second set to level. Following a 69-minute rain-delay, the fourth seed opened his shoulders in the decider to finish the job after three hours and 17 minutes at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

In front of a lively crowd, Ruud found greater depth, consistency and topspin on his backhand in the third set, which allowed him to force Bautista Agut back and close points with his powerful forehand.

“It was a tough battle. The first two sets were two hours and 20 minutes. Good intensity and I was feeling it a bit in the legs,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “Luckily there was some rain, which gave me some time to breath out and regain some energy and I can thank the weather gods today, giving me some extra time and energy.”

The 23-year-old, who advanced to the quarter-finals in Toronto last season, has improved his ATP Head2Head series record against the Spaniard to 1-2 and will next play home favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime.

Chinese men have been lighting up the ATP Challenger Tour recently, none more so than Zhang Zhizhen, who recently won his third Challenger title. After back-to-back runner-up finishes in Luedenscheid, Germany and Trieste, Italy it was a trip to Cordenons, Italy where Zhang collected his first Challenger title of the season.

“My emotions after winning were quite happy, because it was the third time for me this year to reach a final and the last two I lost. In Luedenscheid, it was hard to win the match, but in Trieste it was quite close in three sets. There was a chance, but I didn’t catch it.

“This time (Cordenons), after losing the first set, I was thinking ‘Oh shoot, again, one more time (I’m going to lose), I don’t want it to be like that.’ So, when I won the last point I was really excited,” he said.

This past week, Zhang and Shang Juncheng became the first Chinese duo to win Challenger titles in the same week (Shang won in Lexington, Kentucky).

Three weeks ago, Zhang narrowly missed making history with countryman Wu Yibing, who was victorious in Indianapolis in the same week the 25-year-old fell in the Trieste final. Zhang made sure the historic moment didn’t slip from his hands a second time.

Play has resumed at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers at 3:52 p.m. local time on Thursday, after the action was halted for 69 minutes due to rain.

Third seed Casper Ruud and Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut will resume their match in the third set, after the Norwegian clinched the second set to level the match at 6-7(4), 7-6(4) 0-1. Hubert Hurkacz and Albert Ramos-Vinolas are locked at 5-5 in the first set in Montreal.

Washington champion Nick Kyrgios, Indian Wells titlist Taylor Fritz and home favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime will be in third-round action later on Thursday.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

There’s nothing quite like playing in your hometown, even with the added pressure that comes along with it.

The lone Canadian remaining in draw at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, Felix Auger-Aliassime will attest to that. Through to the third round for the second time at the ATP Masters 1000 event, the native Montrealer is relishing the opportunity to ply his craft in front of his most fervent fans.

“The crowd here adds something special,” said Auger-Aliassime, whose parents live just 10 minutes from the tournament site. “I don’t get that anywhere else. Packed stadium, everyone is on their feet trying to support me — it’s special.”

Auger-Aliassime, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Monday, finds himself matched up against a familiar foe in ninth seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain. They’ve already met three times in 2022, with Norrie claiming their most recent encounter last week in the Los Cabos semi-finals, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3. Auger-Aliassime leads the overall ATP Head2Head, 4-1.

Asked how he’ll approach the Norrie match on Day Four, Auger-Aliassime, poised at a career-high No. 9 in the Pepperstone ATP Rankings, got right down to it.

A wild Wednesday filled with upsets in Montreal ended with the biggest shock of them all, according to the Pepperstone ATP Rankings.

On a day that also saw the first, second and fifth seeds planted, #NextGenATP Briton and World No. 82 Jack Draper closed the Canadian night session with a 7-5, 7-6(4) stunner against Stefanos Tsitsipas. By beating the third seed and World No. 5, Draper earned his first Top 10 win.

"This is why I put in all the hard work, for nights like this on stages like this," the 20-year-old qualifier said in an on-court interview. "Last week [after] Washington, me and my coach probably were thinking we weren't even going to come here. We were going to maybe train a week, get a bit of confidence. But it paid off coming."

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The gap of 77 places between Draper and Tsitsipas is the largest of any of the day's upsets by some margin, with the Greek joining Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz and Andrey Rublev in making an early exit at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

Two of the three seeded doubles teams in Wednesday action were eliminated in Montreal, but Croatia's Mate Pavic and Nikola Mektic survived to stay alive at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

The fifth seeds saved six of seven break points against them, including three at 4-4 in the second set, to edge Nicolas Mahut and Edouard Roger-Vasselin 3-6, 6-4, 10-7 at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

From 5/6 down in the decisive tie-break, the Croatians won five of the last six points to seal progress into the second round, where they will face Daniel Evans and John Peers. The Wimbledon finalists have claimed four titles together this season, most recently winning back-to-back British crowns at The Queen's Club and Eastbourne. Their two-year tally stands at 13 following nine titles in 2021, including three at the Masters 1000 level.

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Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara took out seventh seeds Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek 6-4, 6-2, while Santiago Gonzalez and Andres Molteni downed eighth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 7-5, 6-1. The British-Finnish pair of Glasspool and Heliovaara is seeking its sixth final of 2022 and its second title of the year (Hamburg).

Playing at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers as the World No. 4 and the tournament's second seed, Carlos Alcaraz said he struggled for the first time with the pressure of his lofty status on the ATP Tour.

On Wednesday in Montreal, the 19-year-old lost a match point in the second set and dropped a 6-7(4), 7-6(7), 6-3 decision to American Tommy Paul.

"I felt the pressure to be the No. 2 seed in this kind of tournament, No. 4 in the world," Alcaraz said in his post-match press conference. "It was the first time that I felt that pressure, and I couldn't handle it.

"All I can say from this match is I have to train, I have to be ready to have this pressure, to have these kinds of moments, and to learn how to handle it. That's all I can say right now."

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