Fourth-seeded Ben Shelton and sixth-seeded Andrey Rublev got past potentially tricky matches to advance to the third round of the National Bank Open in Toronto on Wednesday.
Shelton bested Frenchmen Adrian Mannarino for the first time in three tries, winning 6-2, 6-3 in 1 hour, 5 minutes. Rublev earned his 250th career win on the hard courts, using his power to knock off another Frenchman, Hugo Gaston, 6-2, 6-3.
Shelton blistered 16 aces and faced only two break points in his nine service games. When the cagy Mannarino could get a racket on Shelton’s powerful shots, he ended up with 17 unforced errors and only six winners.
“I have played good matches against him but come up short,” said Shelton, whose losses to Mannarino also occurred on hard courts. “He makes things really difficult and returns really well. So the way that I served today, to take the racquet out of his hands, I knew I had to be accurate.
“Usually with him a big serve doesn’t always work, because his hands are so good and he stands up on the baseline. I have to hit spots and I hit spots really, really well today. I am really happy with the way I served.”
Rublev took advance of Gaston’s second serve, winning 20-of-27 points. He took advance of limited break chances, converting 4-of-6 of those opportunities.
“He has amazing touch, amazing legs,” Rublev said on Gaston. “It is natural against those kinds of players to have your rhythm broken. So it is important to step in and take time away from them, because all of that is natural for them.”
In late night action, both No. 2 Taylor Fritz and No. 9 Australian Alex de Minaur advanced with straight-set victories. Fritz struggled with Roberto Carballes Baena, but after a brief rain delay before the second-set tiebreaker, brushed past the Spainard 7-5, 7-6 (1).
de Minaur, who won an ATP 500 title in Washington on Sunday, had an easier time with Argentina’s Francisco Comesana, facing only one break point in the 90-minute affair and prevailing 6-4, 6-2.
Other notable seeded players to advance to Round 3 were No. 7 American Frances Tiafoe, No. 12 Jakub Mensik from Czechia, No. 13 Italian Flavio Cobolli and No. 15 Arthur Fils of France. Czechian Jiri Lehecka, seeded 19th, also advanced, as did No. 20 Alejandro Davidovich-Fokina from Spain, No. 25 American Brandon Nakashima, No. 27 Canadian Gabriel Diallo and No. 28 Lorenzo Sonego from Italy.
Tiafoe had the closest call, edging Japan’s Yosuke Watanuki, 1-6, 7-5, 7-6 (5). There were no breaks of serve in the deciding set, and the American never trailed in the tiebreaker.
Cobolli also battled through three sets and advanced past Canadian wild card Alexis Galarneau, 6-4, 5-7, 6-4. Cobolli launched seven of his 12 services aces in the deciding set.
Three seeded players were not as fortunate and did not advance, including top Canadian No. 21 Felix Auger-Aliassime, No. 23 Stefanos Tsitsipas from Greece and No. 31 Cameron Norrie of Great Britain.
–Field Level Media
