TAYLOR Fritz and Ben Shelton powered through their respective quarterfinal matches Tuesday (Wednesday, Aug. 6, 2025, PH time) at the National Bank Open, securing the first all-American semifinal in an ATP Masters 1000 event in 15 years.
Fritz, seeded No. 2, defeated No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev 6-3, 7-6 (4), firing 20 aces — including one on match point.
“It was clean,” Fritz said. “I’m happy with everything.”
Shelton, the tournament’s No. 4 seed, followed with a straight-sets win over ninth-seeded Alex de Minaur of Australia, 6-3, 6-4. The 22-year-old advanced to the semifinals of an ATP Masters 1000 for the first time in his career.
Wednesday’s clash between Fritz and Shelton marks the first all-American semifinal at this level since Andy Roddick defeated Mardy Fish in Cincinnati in 2010. Fritz holds the edge in their head-to-head, having won their only previous meeting at Indian Wells in 2023.
“He’s a big-match player,” Shelton said of Fritz. “He’s been carrying the flag for the United States in the big tournaments as of late. He’s clutch, serves well. We’re great friends. It’s a match that I’m really excited about.”
Andy Roddick remains the last American man to win a Grand Slam title, capturing the US Open in 2003.
“I have no doubt that one of us is going to get it at some point,” said Shelton, currently ranked No. 7. “Who knows who it is? You guys just got to wait and see … American tennis is in a really good place.”
The tournament’s other semifinal will feature top seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, the 2017 champion in Montreal, against No. 11 Karen Khachanov of Russia. The final is set for Thursday.
Fritz opened his match in hazy, breezy conditions with three consecutive aces and quickly broke Rublev to take the first eight points. The 27-year-old, ranked fourth on the ATP Tour and last year’s US Open runner-up to Jannik Sinner, delivered two more aces to build a 4-1 lead before closing out the first set.
Chasing his 11th career ATP title and second Masters 1000 crown, Fritz broke Rublev at 4-all in the second set, but Rublev immediately broke back and took a 6-5 lead. Fritz responded by forcing a tiebreaker and clinching the match.
Fritz also reached the semifinals at Wimbledon this year, where he lost to world No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz. Several top-ranked players — including Alcaraz, Sinner, No. 5 Jack Draper and No. 6 Novak Djokovic — skipped this year’s event, which is set to expand to two weeks in 2025.
Rublev, who was runner-up last year to Australia’s Alexei Popyrin when the event was held in Montreal, reached the fourth round at both Wimbledon and the French Open this season. / FROM THE WIRES