Montreal, Aug 11:
Defending champion Ben Shelton overcame the challenge of in-form teenager Joao Fonseca to book his place in the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open, defeating the Brazilian 6-3, 7-6(3) in a hard-fought fourth-round encounter.
The American, seeded fifth and ranked No. 10 in the ATP Rankings, was forced to dig deep in windy conditions after falling behind early in both sets. Shelton, however, responded each time to maintain his unbeaten run in Montreal this week and secure his 30th victory of the season.
âIt was tough out there today and I competed well. It wasnât easy conditions to play in. I struggled to find my footing on a lot of balls, as did he. A lot of it just comes down to grit in a match like this. So to come through with a win against a really high-quality player like Joao is huge for me,â Shelton was quoted by ATP.
The opening set saw both players exchange breaks before Shelton found the decisive opening at 4-3. A sharp forehand winner helped him earn another break, and he subsequently served out the set.
Fonseca, who had already eliminated former World No. 3 Stefanos Tsitsipas and ninth seed Casper Ruud in Montreal, responded strongly at the start of the second set, racing to a 3-0 advantage. His momentum was briefly interrupted when he appeared to hurt his right ankle while attempting to chase down an overhead during a break-point opportunity.
Shelton capitalised, recovering the break and drawing level at 3-3. Fonseca continued to battle and saved a break point at 5-5, but the American produced his best tennis when it mattered most, dominating the tie-break to close out the contest in one hour and 48 minutes.
Sheltonâs attacking approach was central to his success. He won 78 per cent of his first-serve points and claimed 14 of 18 points at the net, underlining his willingness to move forward and take time away from his opponent.
âFor me, itâs about playing aggressive tennis. I look to try to get to the net and be aggressive and take the time away. I thought I did a great job of that in the tie-break today, came up with clutch volleys, and ultimately thatâs what made me win tonight,â the American added.
The result also extended Sheltonâs advantage over Fonseca to 2-0 in their Lexus ATP Head2Head series, with the American having previously beaten the teenager in Munich earlier this season. Fonseca was chasing his first quarter-final appearance at the Canadian Masters 1000 event.
Shelton, who has already won titles in Dallas, Munich and Stuttgart this season, remains the only Top-10 player left in the Montreal draw and will next face Czech Jakub Mensik for a place in the semi-finals.