Second seed Taylor Fritz booked his place in the Toronto ATP Masters semi-finals with a 6-3, 7-6(4) win over Andrey Rublev on Tuesday.
Fritz had a chance to close the match at 5-4 in the second set but was broken after what he described as a “brain freeze”. He regrouped quickly to win the tiebreak and reach his fifth semi-final of the season – and first at Masters level.
The American hit a personal-best 20 aces in a two-set match and recorded 29 winners in the 83-minute contest. Fritz now holds a 6-4 head-to-head lead over Rublev and has won 19 of his last 22 matches, including a semi-final run at Wimbledon.
He will face fellow American Ben Shelton, who saw off Alex de Minaur 6-3, 6-4 to reach his first Masters semi-final in four attempts. Shelton, the fourth seed, fired 11 aces and impressed with his performance in extended rallies, winning the majority of points lasting more than nine shots.
“People see me as a server, but I can grind when needed,” Shelton said. “Winning longer rallies is part of my development.”
The result also ended a seven-match winning run for de Minaur, who had just won the title in Washington.
