Toronto Day 9 Recap served up by Sobeys: Epics to Wrap Up Round Four

After starting early with some coffee and dancing, it was a day full of epics, with all four round of sixteen matchups going the distance.  

The doubles quarter-final bracket was also filled out, while the first wheelchair tennis event in NBO history got underway.

Here is the Day 8 recap served up by Sobeys.

On-Court Action

The day began with a thriller on Centre Court between No. 7 seed Frances Tiafoe and No. 9 seed Alex de Minaur. The Aussie came racing out of the gate and kept Tiafoe on the back foot for the better part of the first two sets, but the American fought back. In the end, the Demon scored a late break in a dramatic ninth game that made the difference.

Another battle followed, with Andrey Rublev and Alejandro Davidovich Fokina still locked after splitting two tiebreaks over two hours. However, the Spaniard succumbed to fatigue early in the third set and retired.

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The drama continued into the evening session as Ben Shelton survived another third-set tiebreak as he rallied from 3-5 down in the final set to beat Flavio Cobolli. He will be joined in the last eight by countryman Taylor Fritz, who outlasted Jiri Lehecka in the final match of the day in three tiebreaks, finishing just before 1 am. 

The National Bank Open’s first-ever wheelchair tennis tournament kicked off on Sunday in Toronto. Four of Canada’s best wheelchair tennis players competed in two singles matches, in a best two-out-of-three-tiebreaker format, and finished off the day with a full set in doubles.

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Fresh off titles in Windsor, Thomas Venos and Shawn Courchesne were first on and went the distance as Venos eventually won 7-1, 3-7, 7-5. In the following match, Rob Shaw was up against Barry Henderson, with Shaw taking it after a tight second tiebreak, 7-4, 8-6.

To conclude Day 1, Venos and Shaw partnered to take on Courchesne and Henderson. The latter duo earned an early break to lead 2-0 but Venos and Shaw won six games on the fly to win 6-2.

Around the Grounds

Day two of TennisFest kicked off early with the Kimbo Coffee Party. Court 5 was converted into a dance floor, complete with DJ and music the get the crowd dancing. And of course, there was Kimbo coffee available to provide a morning boost.

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 : Peter Power