Shelton, Tien, Jódar and Nakashima Complete Montreal Final Four

Shelton Breezes Past Mensík to Extend Canada Unbeaten Run

Defending champion Ben Shelton produced a masterclass on Tuesday night at the National Bank Open, dismantling Czech Jakub Mensík 6-3, 6-1 in just over an hour to extend his unbeaten hardcourt streak in Canada to ten consecutive matches. Shelton broke serve four times across the evening, surrendered only two break points — both saved — and gave Mensík no foothold at any stage after the opening exchanges. The result confirmed the full Montreal semifinal draw and set up the most compelling Canadian Open last four in recent memory.

Three of the four semifinalists — Shelton's compatriot Learner Tien, young Spaniard Rafael Jódar and American Brandon Nakashima — are appearing in a Masters 1000 semifinal for the first time. Only Shelton, who lifted the trophy here twelve months ago, has been to this stage before at ATP's second-highest level.

Jódar Survives Tiebreak Battle, Nakashima Sweeps Darderi

Earlier in the day, Jódar navigated a nervy opener against France's Arthur Fils before pulling clear 7-6(5), 6-3. The young Spaniard was forced to save a set point during the tiebreak but converted cleanly once he had the lead, then dominated the second set with decisive baseline exchanges. The win is comfortably the largest of Jódar's career and puts him within two victories of a Masters 1000 title in only his first appearance at the business end of one.

Nakashima's dispatching of Italy's Luciano Darderi was arguably the performance of the tournament so far. The 25-year-old American won 6-2, 6-3, serving 11 aces while dropping just one service game across the entire match. He faced four break points in the second set as Darderi briefly found rhythm, but saved all four and ultimately closed out on serve. Nakashima lost the first set only narrowly in each of his previous two rounds; on Tuesday he was simply untouchable from the first ball.

Tien, the 12th seed, rounded out the quartet by beating Spain's Daniel Mérida in straight sets — a result that ends Mérida's impressive debut run at Masters level and sends Tien into his first Masters 1000 last four without having dropped a set all week.

All-American Semifinal Highlights a Historic Draw

Wednesday's order of play in Montreal opens with Jódar against Nakashima, a matchup between two first-time Masters 1000 semifinalists with contrasting styles — Jódar's aggressive topspin baseline game against Nakashima's heavy serve and flat ball-striking. The evening session then brings the all-American clash between Tien and Shelton, two players who grew up competing against each other on the US junior circuit.

Should both Americans advance, the Canadian Open final would feature two compatriots for only the second time in the tournament's modern history. Shelton arrives as the obvious favourite — defending champion, undefeated in Canada across multiple seasons, and clearly rounding into top form — but Tien has looked equally assured in his straight-sets march through the draw and will fancy his chances with the big-serving style that troubled opponents all week.

Jódar, meanwhile, faces a Nakashima who was arguably hitting the ball better than anyone in Tuesday's quarterfinals. The Spaniard's ability to absorb pace and counter-punch creatively will be tested thoroughly. First serves in Montreal on Wednesday begin at 18:00 local time.