(No. 11) Karen Khachanov def. (No. 1) Alexander Zverev 3-6, 6-4, 7-6 (4)
Karen Khachanov saved a match point in a three-set win over top seed Alexander Zverev on Wednesday night in Toronto to reach the final of the National Bank Open.
After dropping the opening set, Khachanov and Zverev held serve consistently through the second set until the final game, when Khachanov broke serve to level the match. The third set remained tight throughout and was ultimately decided in a tiebreak. Zverev led 3-1 in the breaker and was in position to close out the match, but faltered with a pair of costly unforced errors that allowed Khachanov to complete the comeback.
Both players struggled with consistency, combining for 78 unforced errors. Khachanov committed 34, while Zverev tallied 44 alongside 36 winners. Khachanov hit 29 winners and trailed in service winners and net points but made up ground from the baseline and ultimately won three more total points than Zverev.
With the win, Khachanov advances to his first ATP Masters 1000 final since winning the 2018 Paris Masters title over Novak Djokovic. He will face fourth seed Ben Shelton for the championship on Thursday night.
(No. 4) Ben Shelton def. (No. 2) Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3
Fourth seed Ben Shelton defeated second seed Taylor Fritz in straight sets in an all-American semifinal at the National Bank Open on Wednesday night. The win sends Shelton into his first ATP Masters 1000 final and makes him the first American player born in the 2000s to reach the final of a Masters-level event.
Shelton had six break point opportunities across three Fritz service games in the opening set and capitalized in the ninth game with a down-the-line forehand winner. He maintained his aggressive play in the second set, breaking Fritz in the fifth game with a drop shot and lob combination that left Fritz stranded at the net.
Shelton hit 22 unreturned serves compared to Fritz’s 10 and hit 5 backhand winners while Fritz failed to hit one. He generated 10 break point opportunities and limited Fritz to just 68% of points won on his first serve and 45% on his second.
Following back-to-back Top 10 wins over Alex de Minaur and Fritz, Shelton moves into the final in search of his third career ATP title. His previous titles came on hard courts in Tokyo in 2023 and on clay in Houston last year. He will face 11th seed Karen Khachanov for the title Thursday night.
