Fritz Battles into ATP Toronto Masters Quarterfinals

The American second seed completed a full set of Masters 1000 quarter-final appearances as he finally clinched the last required victory in Canada.

The late-night encounter spanned 39 games without any breaks of serve, with 15 combined break point opportunities missed.

Fritz delivered two aces in the final-set tiebreak to secure his narrow victory, advancing as Lehecka’s final shot sailed long.

“It’s really cool to make all the Masters quarters,” Fritz said. “It shows consistency.

“Today I had to come to terms with parts of my game not being there. I relied heavily on my first serve, but my overall play had too many errors.”

Fellow American Ben Shelton capitalized on Flavio Cobillo’s failure to serve out their match, eventually winning a tense 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 battle.

After the match, both players exchanged words, which Shelton described as benign.

“He made a gesture that wasn’t directed at me, so we’re on good terms,” Shelton clarified.

Now facing Alex de Minaur, Shelton marked his 100th ATP-level victory after nearly two and a half hours, clinching the match with an ace on his second match point, marking his third consecutive last-eight appearance after Wimbledon and Washington.

“It was a tough match,” Shelton commented. “I was nearly out, being down a break in the third set, but I gave myself another chance. It was a real battle, far from easy,” Shelton remarked.

“My serve wasn’t as effective, but coming through demonstrates my mental toughness and resilience.”

De Minaur extended his ATP winning streak to seven matches, defeating Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.

The Australian clinched the title in Washington on Sunday before diving into the demanding Toronto schedule, where matches began over the weekend and continue till Thursday.

De Minaur voiced his concerns over the new 12-day Masters calendar, which sees play kicking off in Cincinnati this week even before Canada’s Thursday night final concludes.

The Australian added that an unexpected third-round walkover left him with three consecutive days of inactivity during the tournament.

“I didn’t enjoy the extended break. My body is accustomed to ongoing activity,” he explained after his near two and a half-hour match against Tiafoe. “It felt like my system shut down, and I had to refocus and remind myself I was still competing.”

“I’m proud of my effort today.”

De Minaur, having defeated Tiafoe in three out of four encounters, benefited from almost 50 unforced errors made by the American while overcoming his own serving inconsistencies in the second and early third sets.

“It was never going to be easy. He can switch gears at any moment. Closing the match was challenging,” De Minaur said, adding that the hot, windy conditions compounded the difficulty.

“I’m just glad to come away with this win,” he commented after securing his seventh quarter-final of the season.

Sixth seed Andrey Rublev, runner-up last year when the event was hosted in Montreal, advanced to his 14th Masters quarter-final 6-7, 7-6, 3-0 as Spaniard Alejandro Davidovich Fokina retired due to potential cramping.

Both players ended the match with 37 unforced errors each, with Rublev set to face Fritz for a place in the semi-finals.

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