Toronto, August 4 (H.S.) — Rising American tennis star and fourth seed Ben Shelton advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Bank Open (Toronto Masters) after a hard-fought win over Italy’s 13th seed Flavio Cobolli on Sunday night. Shelton won the thrilling encounter 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(1).
The 22-year-old was trailing 2-4 in the final set but staged an impressive comeback, taking the match into a tie-break and clinching it convincingly. This marks the 100th victory of his professional career, achieved in 169 matches.
Shelton shared after the match, “It was a tough battle. I was down a break in the third set and under a lot of pressure with the way he was playing. But I gave myself another chance and made it count.”
In the quarterfinals, Shelton will face Australia’s ninth seed Alex de Minaur, who defeated fellow American and seventh seed Frances Tiafoe in another three-set contest, 6-2, 4-6, 6-4.
Shelton, known for his powerful serve and forehand, admitted to struggling with both during the match but credited his mental resilience and fighting spirit for the win. His career includes two ATP Tour titles—one on hard court in Tokyo (2023) and another on clay in Houston (2022).
Meanwhile, Russia’s sixth seed Andrey Rublev also reached the quarterfinals after Spain’s Alejandro Davidovich Fokina retired due to fatigue. Rublev was leading 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 3-0 at the time.
Rublev will next face the winner of the match between America’s second seed Taylor Fritz and Czech Republic’s Jiri Lehecka.
Leave a Comment