TORONTO — 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.
Fritz, 27, 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.
