Fritz, Shelton Shine in their Neighbour’s Yard

On a cool Friday night at Sobeys Stadium, the two highest-ranked Americans on the ATP Tour sent a clear statement of intent to the rest of the field in Toronto, but they took divergent paths to the round of 16. 

Exactly 30 days after their five-set thriller at Wimbledon, No. 2 seed Taylor Fritz spoiled the homecoming of No. 27 seed Gabriel Diallo, knocking out the last remaining Canadian in the singles draw, 6-4, 6-2. As the clock approached midnight, fourth seed Ben Shelton improved to 5-0 against compatriot Brandon Nakashima with a gutsy 6-7(8), 6-2, 7-6(5) victory.

After being pushed to two tight sets in his first match of the week against Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena, Fritz was keen to find his range off the ground as soon as possible. The world No. 4 broke Diallo’s big serve to love in the opening game of the match and never really looked back. After saving the only break point he faced all match in the eighth game and then easily serving out the opener, Fritz broke in the third game of the second set from 40-0 down, using his steady groundstrokes to neutralize Diallo’s powerful but erratic shots. 
All in all, Fritz won 23 out of 26 (88%) of his total first-serve points, and lost only three points in his own service games the entire second set.

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“I think I did a really good job from the baseline of just hitting my forehand through the court, deep, consistent,” Fritz told reporters after his tidy victory, which set up a fourth-round clash with Czechia’s Jiri Lehecka. “I don't think I gave him a lot of mistakes from the ground. I didn't do that [during our first meeting] at Wimbledon either, but I think here it's much easier to miss the ball and make mistakes. So I was solid. He came out and played a loose first game, so it helps a lot. You start up a break, and I did a good job of just holding my serve and not letting him back into the set.”

Fritz was the clear favourite heading into this third-round clash, but part of him was prepared to face the wrath of Canadian fans because he was on enemy territory. “To be honest, I thought the crowd was very mild — well, mild maybe is not the right [word]. They were just very nice for me playing the last player in the tournament from Canada. I thought it was going to be a little bit more hostile, but I guess everyone's just so nice,” Fritz said with a laugh. “I've dealt with a lot worse, so I'm always prepared for the worst.”

Having pushed Fritz to the absolute limit at SW19 last month, Diallo was hoping to reimplement the same aggressive game plan in order to fight for a different result. But the Montreal native never truly looked comfortable on his own serve, even when leading. In his post-match press conference, the 23-year-old Canadian was quick to voice his disappointment.

“I just feel like I let a lot of people down today. I didn't really have a chance out there, didn't have a chance to get the crowd going. Just not the outing that you strive for, honestly, as a competitor,” he said. “I kind of let him bully me around the court a lot today, and that's not a good feeling. I'm going to have to take some time to reflect, watch the tape, and get better from there.”

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About an hour after his loss, Diallo was clear-eyed enough to recognize what exactly sets the top players apart from the rest of the field. “I think the key is to really play [on] your front foot,” he explained. “Against a guy like him, I think whoever can play closer to the baseline and dictate usually is going to have the desired outcome. We're both guys that like to hit and dictate with our forehand, and today he did a much better job than me. He was able to step in, have some cracks, make me down on my service game, hitting his spots on his serve. I think that today I saw what it takes to really get after those guys.”

Whereas Fritz was clinical in his display and followed a straight path into the second week of the National Bank Open, Shelton was forced to take the scenic route. After the first-set tiebreak just barely slipped from his grasp, the American No. 2 regrouped quickly and continued to use his booming first serve — which would regularly clock in at 220 to 230 km/h on the radar gun — to get ahead in each of his service games. In the end, Shelton needed five match points — two at 5-4 in the third, three in the tiebreak — to eventually get over the line, sealing the victory with his 19th ace.

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“It's tough [and] definitely something that you think about, especially because the ball's on my racquet, right?” Shelton said of his first two match points, where he had a real opportunity to attack his second-serve returns. “I put one of the two returns in play. I had a few forehands on match points that I sprayed a little bit. But it's not easy on a night like this, where there's wind, where the guy's serving well, and you know the chances are few and far between. So, to be able to hold serve after that, and put myself in a position to be in the tiebreaker and give myself a chance to win, and then execute it in the end was huge for me.”

“I thought I played great tennis. I thought he played great tennis. It was a high-level match. A lot of positives to take away,” Shelton added. “So, whenever you get through a nail-biter like that, there's positives and negatives. If you don't play well, at least you got to feel that tension, the nervousness, the pressure. But when you do play well and you come through a match like that it's even better.”

Heading into the Civic Holiday weekend, many of the fans chose to stay to watch Shelton do battle with Nakashima. As the final set between the two Americans began to heat up, the fan support began to get noticeably louder and louder — particularly with Shelton, already a fan favourite, being given relatively more support.

“I think this is an amazing stadium. It's pretty cool that I played my first match at 12:30 [in the afternoon], I played my last match until 11:30 [at night], and I feel like it was a great crowd both times,” Shelton said of the energy of playing on Centre Court, where he first faced off against Carlos Alcaraz two years ago. “People are either skipping work or having an off day and coming to the match, or spending their late night on a Friday here is cool for me and something I can appreciate, for sure.”

The ATP's best return to Toronto this summer for the National Bank Open presented by Rogers July 26 to Aug. 7, 2025 at Sobeys Stadium. 2025 Tickets are on sale. Get your tickets today!

Feature Photo : Geoff Robins