Montreal Match “Shark Bites”: Previewing Monday’s Quarterfinal Matches

Here’s a closer look at the feature matches on the schedule courtesy of renowned ATP stats and information guru, Greg Sharko.

[WC] Duncan Chan (CAN) / Alexis Galarneau (CAN) vs [3] Marcelo Arevalo (ESA) / Mate Pavic (CRO) – The Canadian wild card duo face a tall task against the former World No. 1s who have been playing together for the past three years, compiling an 8-6 record in finals. They are 1-3 in finals this season with a title at Queen’s Club/London and were also finalists at Wimbledon. In 2024, they won their first Grand Slam title together at Roland-Garros.  Chan and Galarneau are both playing in their first career ATP Tour doubles quarterfinal. They are the first all-Canadian team to reach the quarterfinals at the NBO since 2016 when Daniel Nestor and Vasek Pospisil advanced to the semifinals. Denis Shapovalov was the last Canadian man to reach the quarterfinals in the doubles draw (w/Bopanna) in 2019. He was a semifinalist.

[20] Rafael Jodar (ESP) vs  [18] Arthur Fils (FRA) – This is a third-time meeting between the two Top 20-ranked players. In their last meeting the Spaniard won 7-6(5), 6-3 on July 28 in the first round of Washington and he went on to reach the final. In their first meeting in April, Fils won 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in the semifinals of Barcelona and he went on to capture the title. 

READ: Shelton happy with ‘grit’ in straight-sets win over Fonseca at NBO

The 19-year-old Spaniard lost the first set in his opening round match on Wednesday and has won the last six sets going into the quarterfinals. He is appearing in a third consecutive ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal (Madrid & Rome) and is the first teenager at the NBO to reach the quarterfinals since Stefanos Tsitsipas in 2018. He began this season ranked No. 168, breaking into Top 100 in March, Top 50 in April and Top 20 on August 3 at career-high No. 15 after advancing to biggest final of his career in Washington last Monday. He captured first ATP Tour title at Marrakech in April in his first tour-level event on clay. This year he qualified for tour-level debut at the Australian Open and entered Roland Garros as the No. 27 seed, advancing to his first Grand Slam quarterfinal. 

French No. 1 Fils, the highest seed left in the bottom half of the draw, is appearing in his fourth Masters 1000 quarterfinal of the season (Indian Wells QF, Miami SF, Madrid SF). He is only the third player to reach four or more Masters 1000 quarterfinals this year, along with Sinner (5) and Zverev (4).  He saved two second set points in the tie-break against Cameron Norrie in his Saturday night win and converted his fifth match point.  In April, he captured the Barcelona title  and also finished as the runner-up in Doha in February.

[19] Luciano Darderi (ITA) vs [28] Brandon Nakashima (USA) – This is the third meeting between the two (tied 1-1) and the Italian won the first meeting 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-2 in the second round of Hamburg last year. The American won their last meeting 6-2, 7-5 in the first round of Vienna last October. They are the oldest players remaining in the quarterfinals at 24 and 25 years old, respectively. 

Darderi lost the opening set in his last two matches before rallying to win in three sets. He’s the last remaining Italian in the tournament and he’s appearing in his second straight Masters 1000 quarterfinal after advancing to the semifinals on home soil in Rome in May. His best result this season is winning his fifth career ATP Tour title in Santiago in February. 

Nakashima, who turned 25 years old on Monday, is appearing in his first career Masters 1000 quarterfinal. He is one of three Americans in the quarterfinals (Shelton, Tien) for the second year in a row. His best result this season is a runner-up finish in Brisbane in January. He began working in June at the Queen’s Club with new coach Wayne Ferreira, who is a former World No. 6 and the 1996 NBO singles champion.

Teenage Quarterfinalists at the NBO (since 2000) – Jodar is one of seven teenagers to reach the quarterfinals or better at the NBO in this century:

Andy Roddick  2001-02 (18/19)          
Rafael Nadal   2005 (19)
Andy Murray  2006 (19)
Marin Cilic       2008 (19)
Denis Shapovalov     2017 (18)
Stefanos Tsitsipas   2018 (19) 
Rafael Jodar           2026 (19)

Photo: Tim Austen/Tennis Canada