Toronto (AFP) – Canadian Masters top seed Daniel Medvedev defeated seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz on Friday to reach the semi-finals.
The Russian beat the Pole 2-6, 7-6 (6), 7-6 (5) and will face American John Isner, who defeated France’s Gael Monfils 7-6 (5), 6-4 (seeded 11), in the last match of the Today.
Medvedev, 25 years old and second in the standings, has 11 ATP Tour titles. This year, he was crowned in Mallorca and Marseille.
And he hit 23 aces to defeat Hurkashz, a month after he lost to the pole in the fourth round at Wimbledon.
“He had his chances and he was probably the best in at least two sets for sure, but that’s tennis,” Medvedev said. “We both have great serve, and I hit a few aces when I needed them most.”
Earlier, Stefanos Tsitsipas beat Casper Rudd 6-1, 6-4.
Tsitsipas led 5-0 and took the first set in 23 minutes. Roode bounced back in the second, maintaining his serve and speed against the opponent with accurate shots.
Greek Tsitsipas finally broke with a deep shot to take a 5-4 lead. He completed the win in 74 minutes with his eighth header in the match.
The winner commented, “Every opponent I’ve faced has been a player who has done well in the past… and I’ve handled these situations very well.”
On Saturday, Tsitsipas will face American Riley Opelka, who won 6-3 7-6 (1) over Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarter-finals.
Third seed and world number three Tsitsipas lost to Novak Djokovic in the French Open final in May. He reached the Canadian Masters final in 2018, losing to Rafael Nadal.
Norway’s Ruud, ranked sixth and 12th racket in the world, has won the last 14 matches, winning tournaments in Austria, Switzerland and Sweden.
In the women’s tournament to be held in Montreal, top seed Arina Sabalenka beat Victoria Azarenka 6-2, 6-4 in the quarter-final match between Belarus.
Sabalenka, third in the WTA rankings, slipped 4-2 in the second set before winning four straight games. The 23-year-old tennis player finished with seven aces in the 79-minute match against the eighth seed.
“He played very well. The second set was a bit tough,” Sabalenka said. “I am really happy because he was able to respond at the end of the set to win.”
Sabalenka will face Czech Karolina Pliskova, who beat Spaniard Sarah Soribes Tormo 6-4 6-0 in the semi-finals on Saturday.
In another quarter-final match, Italian Camila Giorgi defeated American Coco Gauff 6-4, 7-6 (2). She will meet another American, Jessica Pegula, who recovered to beat Tunisian Anas Jabeur (seeded 13) 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-0.
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