TORONTO (AP) — Second-seeded Taylor Fritz of the United States beat 6-foot-8 Canadian Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-2 on Friday night in the third round of the National Bank Open.
“I thought the crowd was (very) nice for me playing the last player in the tournament from Canada,” Fritz said. “I thought it was going to be a little bit more hostile. But I guess everyone is just so nice. I’ve dealt with a lot worse.”
Fritz set up a fourth-round match in the hard-court event with 19th-seeded Jiri Lehecka of Czechia. Lehecka beat 15th-seeded Arthur Fils of France 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
The 27-year-old Fritz is No. 4 in the world. He has 10 career ATP Tour titles, winning this year on grass at Eastbourne and Stuttgart.
In the late match, fourth-seeded Ben Shelton outlasted fellow American Brandon Nakashima 6-7 (8), 6-2, 7-6 (5). Shelton will face 13th-seeded Flavio Cobolli of Italy.
In the afternoon, sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev of Russia beat Lorenzo Sonego of Italy 5-7, 6-4, 6-3.
“In the second and third sets, I was able to play more aggressive, fewer mistakes,” Rublev said. “Let’s see what’s happening next, I’m super excited and motivated.”
Seventh-seeded Frances Tiafoe of the United States edged Aleksandar Vukic of Australia 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 to set up a match with Washington winner Alex de Minaur of Australia. De Minaur advanced when countryman Christopher O’Connell withdrew.
Top-ranked Jannik Sinner — the 2023 winner — and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz skipped the hard-court event that ends Thursday. No. 5 Jack Draper and No. 6 Novak Djokovic also are absent.
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AP tennis: https://apnews.com/hub/tennis
The Associated Press
