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Daniil Medvedev and Carlos Alcaraz are among those who have made the journey from Montreal to Cincinnati this week as they prepare to compete in the seventh ATP Masters 1000 event of the season at the Western & Southern Open.

Medvedev, who lifted the trophy in 2019, will face stiff competition from two-time Masters 1000 champion Alcaraz and Spaniard Rafael Nadal, who will try to win his 37th Masters 1000 crown in Cincinnati.

Taylor Fritz leads home hopes, while a string of stars will be aiming for deep runs to help boost their Nitto ATP Finals qualification chances.

ATPTour.com looks ahead at 10 things to watch in Cincinnati.

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Pablo Carreno Busta continued his tear through the Montreal draw on Saturday night with an all-action semi-final victory against Daniel Evans. The Spaniard won a high-quality battle of unseeded upstarts 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-2 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final.

The 31-year-old had a match point in the second-set tie-break but saw his perfect set streak on the week snapped at nine before storming back in a dominant final set. After so little separated the competitors for most of the two-hour, 58-minute marathon, Carreno Busta raced through the finish line by winning the final 12 points, including eight on return.

"It was fun for the crowd but for me it was tough," he said of the gripping encounter. "I had a match point in the second set but he served pretty good so I couldn't do anything. When you have a match point and have to play another set, it's always hard to do it.

"Mentally I think I was very good. Probably the beginning of the third set was the hardest part of the match. But after that I thought I had to be more aggressive, try to push a lot, try to go to the net, and it was good."

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#NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti began his quest to qualify for the Western & Southern Open by taking down German Daniel Altmaier 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 in two-hours, 46 minutes in Saturday’s first-round qualifying match at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

Musetti, 20, who claimed his first Tour-level title at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg this past month, joined countrymen Fabio Fognini and Lorenzo Sonego to complete an Italian trifecta. Fognini needed a third set tie-break to defeat Soonwoo Kwon 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(3), while Sonego had a comfortable, straight-sets victory over John Millman 7-5, 6-2, earning his first victory on a hard court since the Australian Open.

The Italians will all chase a main-draw birth Sunday as they play back-to-back-to-back on Court seven.

Also part of the star-studded qualifying field is David Goffin, a former finalist in Cincinnati, who needed just 45 minutes today to defeat Frenchman Hugo Gaston, 6-1, 6-0.

Marcos Giron won the all-American contest against Denis Kudla, 6-3, 6-2, joining Steve Johnson and Bradley Klahn as the only Americans remaining in Cincinnati’s qualifying draw.

Hubert Hurkacz continues to hang tough in Montreal.

The eighth seed rallied from losing a see-saw first set to seal a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 semi-final victory against Casper Ruud at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers on Saturday, his fourth consecutive three-set victory of the week.

After Ruud impressively recovered a 0-3 deficit to take the opening set, Hurkacz regained his composure to dictate the rest of the proceedings with some aggressive hitting and level the pair’s ATP Head2Head series at 1-1. The Pole’s power from deep brought him regular success against the Ruud delivery, with Hurkacz converting five from eight break points en route to a two-hour, two-minute victory at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

“I was trying to stay in the game,” said Hurkacz after the match when asked about the early pressure he faced on Court Central. “Casper was playing really incredible tennis and he was the better player at the beginning, especially for the first set and a half. I was trying to stay in the game and hold on to compete as good as I can.”

Hurkacz had already battled past Emil Ruusuvuori, Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Nick Kyrgios in matches that went the distance this week in Quebec. Despite the demanding nature of his victories, Hurkacz was confident he would be ready to bring his best for the final, where he will face Pablo Carreno Busta or Daniel Evans.

Third seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski clinched a match tie-break for the second consecutive day in Montreal Saturday to advance to their eighth final of the season (5-2). After dropping the first set, Koolhof and Skupski rallied to beat two-time Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies 3-6, 6-2, 10-8.

Koolhof and Skupski are the top duo in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. Coming into Montreal, they were on a three-match skid, but the pair has quickly turned it around and will compete for its second ATP Masters 1000 title of the season on Sunday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

Attempting to capture their sixth title of the year, they will take on either Poland’s Jan Zielinski and Hubert Hurkacz, or Daniel Evans and John Peers. That match is scheduled last in Saturday’s order of play, following Evans’ singles semi-final match against Spaniard Pablo Carreno-Busta.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Andy Murray will compete at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati after moving into the main draw on Saturday.

The former World No. 1 was due to compete in qualifying, but has now taken the unused special exempt spot, which opened up following Jack Draper’s defeat in Montreal on Friday. The Scot will face Swiss star Stan Wawrinka in a popcorn first-round match in Cincinnati.

Murray has a strong record in Ohio, having triumphed at the hard-court ATP Masters 1000 event in 2008 and 2011, before he advanced to the final in 2016. He joins a stacked field in Cincinnati, featuring World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.

[NEWSLETTER FORM]

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski will aim to capture a Tour-leading sixth title of the season and strengthen their lead in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Teams Rankings when they compete at the Western & Southern Open next week.

However, their task won’t be easy in Cincinnati, with the third seeds facing a series of potential testing assignments in a stacked top half. The Dutch-British tandem could face singles star Carlos Alcaraz and Pablo Carreno Busta in their opening match, if the Spaniards can overcome Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Carreno Busta won the doubles title with Alex de Minaur in 2020.

Koolhof and Skupski are on a collision course to meet Roland Garros finalists Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the quarter-finals, while they could face Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the semi-finals.

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The top seeds, who have six tour-level trophies together, including two ATP Masters 1000 titles, could play Australian Open champs Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios in a popcorn second-round clash. Kokkinakis and Kyrgios will open against Simone Bolelli and Fabo Fognini.

It took a 20-ace barrage for eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland to bring white-hot Aussie Nick Kyrgios’ streak to an end, 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-1, on Friday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. Beginning with his run to the Wimbledon final, Kyrgios had won 15 of his past 16 matches, including nine straight and the title tilt in Washington.

But the extended match play may have caught up to the 27-year-old in IGA Stadium against Hurkacz, who also got the best of him during a trophy surge earlier this summer in Halle. (Asked if he had a better read on Kyrgios than his ATP counterparts, Hurkacz smiled, “Probably not.”)

The Montreal draw blew wide open for Hurkacz, with five of the top eight seeds, including World No. 1 and defending champ Daniil Medvedev, gone before the quarter-finals. However, the 23-year-old Pole isn’t at all surprised by the shakeup.

“The level is so close now between the guys ranked from Top 10 to Top 40, so it maybe looks on paper like some of the guys are below, but the level is really incredible,” said the 25-year-old, through to an ATP Masters 1000 semi-final for the fourth time. “Every single match is fifty-fifty.”

Hurkacz’s semi-final opponent is the highest seed still standing, Casper Ruud of Norway, who is up to No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and poised to reach a career-high No. 4 should he win Saturday.

Daniel Evans was being played off the court by a red-hot Tommy Paul in the pair's Montreal quarter-final on Friday evening. But the workmanlike Briton kept the faith in his steady game to advance to his second career ATP Masters 1000 semi-final with a hard-fought 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

"The crowd, that's what they buy their tickets for. That's live sport," Evans said in his post-match press conference. "You never know what's going to happen. It was an amazing match, amazing atmosphere. I played on the court before. In the day it was amazing, but at night, there's something about playing sport at night, it's extra special."

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After Paul filled up the highlight reel with his pace and powerful ground game early on, Evans capitalised on the slightest of openings in sets two and three to win both by a single break. The 32-year-old secured an early lead in the deciding set, then crucially escaped 15/40 to move within one game of victory at 5-3.

Evans saw a match point go begging in spectacular fashion on return and absorbed one last Paul backhand pass on serve before completing the turnaround by expertly backing up strong serving in the clutch.

Daniil Medvedev is two Western & Southern Open wins away from securing his status as World No. 1 through the US Open, but a dangerous group of players could stand in his way in Cincinnati, Friday's draw revealed.

The top seed will open against either Maxime Cressy or Botic van de Zandschulp before a potential third-round meeting against one of 16th seed Grigor Dimitrov, Denis Shapovalov, Tommy Paul or Jenson Brooksby. Should Medvedev reach the quarter-finals, he could get a chance to avenge his Montreal loss to Nick Kyrgios, who meets Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the opening round and could see 11th seed Taylor Fritz following that.

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Rafael Nadal, set for his first competitive action since an abdominal tear forced him to pull out of Wimbledon, could pass Medvedev at the top of the Pepperstone ATP Rankings if he wins the Cincinnati title and his rival fails to reach the quarter-finals. Seeded second, the Spaniard will face Borna Coric — who entered the draw with a protected ranking — or a qualifier in his first match.

Seventh seed Felix Auger-Aliassime is also lurking in Nadal's bottom quarter. The Canadian will open play against the winner of one of the standout first-round matchups between Alexander Bublik and Alex de Minaur.

Third seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski rallied from a set down to defeat Lloyd Glasspool and Harri Heliovaara 4-6, 6-3, 10-8 in Montreal Friday and consolidated their lead in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. The duo avenged its Hamburg loss to Glasspool and Heliovaara to advance to the semi-finals at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers.

The five-time champions in 2022 (Melbourne, Adelaide 2, Doha, Madrid, and ‘s-Hertogenbosch) are looking for their second ATP Masters 1000 title of the season.

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Also advancing to the semi-finals were two-time Roland Garros champions, Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies, who took down Ariel Behar and Gonzalo Escobar 6-2, 7-5. The Germans will clash against Koolhof and Skupski, a rematch of the Barcelona final, which Krawietz and Mies won in a deciding match tie-break.

Krawietz and Mies are chasing their third title of the season, but their first since the clay season, when they won back-to-back trophies in Barcelona and Munich.

One day after playing what he called one of the best matches of his career, Felix Auger-Aliassime's Montreal campaign came to a disappointing end in Friday's quarter-finals. Playing in the city of his birth, the Canadian was swept off Court Central 6-1, 6-2 by fourth seed Casper Ruud.

"It's super disappointing to lose any tournament like this, and especially here," Auger-Aliassime said in his post-match press conference, giving full credit to his opponent. "This is a tournament we don't play every year, so it's always special for me to play here," he later added.

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It was the World No. 9's first quarter-final appearance at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, which alternates between Toronto and Montreal each season. Auger-Aliassime had thrilled his home fans this week with victories against Yoshihito Nishioka and ninth seed Cameron Norrie, but came undone against Ruud at the ATP Masters 1000.

"I've been thinking since the match ended what happened," he said. "I think I have to see. Maybe my expectations were a bit too high from yesterday [a 6-3, 6-4 win against Norrie] and I was trying to repeat that instead of just living with what I had, just fighting with all the tools that I had today, fighting with my opponent today."

As the sun set on a brutally humid evening in Atlanta late last month, a young American star was rising in front of Tour-veteran John Isner’s eyes: 19-year-old Ben Shelton. The 6’ 10” six-time tournament champion and former World No. 8 toiled for two hours, 24 minutes before eking out a 7-6(8), 4-6, 7-6(3) victory, that left a strong impression on the elder statesman of American tennis.

“He’s an incredible talent. I watched him play a-year-and-a-half ago in college and saw how athletic and talented he is,” Isner said. “I’m going to be a big fan of his in the future… Truthfully, I don’t see myself beating him anytime in the future. I hope I don’t have to play him again.”

Two weeks before his Tour-level debut, Shelton made his first ATP Challenger Tour final in Rome, Georgia, but fell short against China’s then-highest-ranked player, Wu Yibing.

The teenager has been building upon his NCAA singles title in May, reaching four semi-finals of the five Challenger Tour events in which he has competed. A week after completing his sophomore season at the University of Florida, the lefty reached the last four at the Challenger Tour event in Little Rock, Arkansas (just the second of his career).

"When I went to Little Rock, I started to believe more in myself and my abilities, that I could hang with the guys that are ranked 150 in the world or 250 in the world and that gave me a little confidence.”

Tennis fans, we need your help in selecting which #ATP50 Game Changing moments to feature in our August issue of the ATP Tour Insider newsletter!

Which is your favourite rivalry from the past 50 years of the ATP? Will it be the modern matchups between Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic, or perhaps John McEnroe against Jimmy Connors, Bjorn Borg or Ivan Lendl, or Andre Agassi vs Pete Sampras?

Which hot shot wowed you the most? Who has your vote for most courageous comeback? From the 1972 World Championships Tennis Finals clash between Ken Rosewall and Rod Laver, to Andy Murray’s phenomenal performance at the 2016 season finale to clinch World No. 1, which final had you on the edge of your seat? 

Check out our immersive ATP 50 features – you’ll especially want to see all the hot shots in full – before making your picks. Each category has 10 choices, and we want you to select your top three.

* 10 Memorable Title Matches In ATP History
* There Will Always Be Hot Shots
* 10 Defining Rivalries In ATP History
* 10 Courageous Comebacks

Casper Ruud reached his third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of the season Friday, when he capitalised on a misfiring performance from Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime to advance 6-1, 6-2 in Montreal.

The fourth seed recovered from dropping serve in the opening game as he played the more consistent and aggressive tennis throughout the clash on Court Central, with home favourite Auger-Aliassime leaking errors from both wings.

The 23-year-old committed nine unforced errors in the match compared to Auger-Aliassime’s 25, while he hit with great accuracy to pull around the Canadian, who looked nervous in his first Masters 1000 quarter-final at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

“It was one of those days where everything goes in one favour and luckily it was in my favour. With a player like Felix, you need to rely on some margins going your way. I didn’t expect them to all go on my side,” Ruud said in his on-court interview. “It was a bit of a difficult start. I got broken but then was able to turn everything around. I hit my spots, made the shots I needed to and make him hit a lot of balls. That was the game plan and it worked well.

”I am sure Felix has played better than he has today. He has for sure, I have seen it before. It is a pity because he is playing at home. Maybe that was a factor, you could be nervous, but I am not going to talk for Felix. It was a big moment. This arena was full today and I am lucky I was able to win.”

Hubert Hurkacz survived an attacking bombardment from Nick Kyrgios to reach his fourth ATP Masters 1000 semi-final on Friday in Montreal, overcoming the Australian 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-1 on Court Central.

In an absorbing clash at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, the Pole adjusted to the 27-year-old’s quick play on serve, while he delivered decisive blows from his own strings to advance after one hour and 46 minutes and improve to 31-13 on the season.

“Nick has been playing some incredible tennis throughout the past weeks, so it is a pleasure playing against him,” Hurkacz said in his on-court interview. “I hope the fans enjoyed it as well, but I am happy with the result in the end.”

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Last week’s Washington champion Kyrgios entered the match in red-hot form, having won 15 of his past 16 matches, with his only defeat coming against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final.

Opportunity is knocking for Casper Ruud as he readies for the quarter-finals of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers Friday for the second consecutive year. Daniil Medvedev, Carlos Alcaraz and Stefanos Tsitsipas, all summarily dismissed on an upset-filled Wednesday in Montreal, are out, leaving the Norwegian as the highest-remaining seed.

“It will be interesting to see what’s going to happen. I will be here tomorrow fighting for a place in the semi-finals,” said the Norwegian, who improved to 37-13 on the year with a 6-7(4), 7-6(4), 6-4 turnaround against Roberto Bautista Agut, his first win over the Spaniard in three attempts. “I guess I’m the highest-ranked still standing, still surviving, but it will be a new match tomorrow.”

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The Roland Garros finalist will go up against homegrown favorite Felix Auger-Aliassime, who, with a 6-3, 6-4 dismissal of ninth seed Cameron Norrie of Great Britain, became the first Quebecois to reach the final eight in his native Montreal.

“Montreal people, French Canadians, are really proud people. We’re a small community in the world and we support each other in everything we do,” said Auger-Aliassime, who celebrated his 22nd birthday on Monday. “Especially in professional sports, I think whenever you see an athlete coming from the province of Quebec do things on the world stage, people are very proud. It makes me proud to be in that position, for sure.”

Jack Draper's dream debut continued on Thursday in Montreal, but it was an injury nightmare for Gael Monfils in the pair's third-round match.

The #NextGenATP Briton led 6-2, 0-2 on Court Central when Monfils suffered a foot injury in what was his first ATP Tour appearance since Madrid in May. The Frenchman appeared to reaggravate an issue for which he underwent a small procedure later that month.

After a medical timeout, Monfils stepped back on the court with intentions to play, but retired before hitting another ball after a courtside discussion with his team.

"I know what it's like to do an ankle," a subdued Draper said post-match. "I did one last year and rebounded. I hope Gael is alright. I wish him all the best for the rest of the season. I guess to be in the quarter-finals is nice for myself, but it's never how you want it to happen."

After upsetting third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas late Wednesday night to earn his first Top 10 win, Draper backed it up with a clean opening set against Monfils. He did not face a break point in the opener and converted on his two chances to ease into the lead.

One day after beating World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, Nick Kyrgios maintained his sky-high level in Montreal to breeze past follow Aussie Alex de Minaur on Thursday.

In a 6-2, 6-3 victory, the Washington champion took flight early as he overwhelmed his opponent to win the first four games in 11 minutes. With his forehand firing, Kyrgios won 17 of the first 21 points to set the tone on Court Rogers, the match having been moved from Court Central due to afternoon rain.

"Incredibly tough after yesterday's big high, playing Daniil, and the crowd was amazing. It was a day I'll probably never ever forget," Kyrgios said of his upset win.

"Today was really hard mentally for me to go out here and play Alex," he continued. "We're such good friends and he's been having such a good career so far and carrying the Australian flag for so long. It was just tough mentally. It's never easy to play a player like that, especially if they're Australian.

"I just got out here and got the job done. I played the way I had to play. He's a hell of a player. If you play to his strengths, he's one of the best players we have in the game and he's so fast. He's going to have a hell of a career."

Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime demonstrated his title credentials in Montreal Thursday, downing Cameron Norrie 6-3, 6-4 to reach the quarter-finals on home soil for the first time.

The 22-year-old brought the home crowd to their feet throughout his 72-minute victory as he blasted the ninth-seeded Brit off the court to improve to 5-1 in their ATP Head2Head series.

In a dominant display, Auger-Aliassime targeted Norrie’s forehand with his watertight groundstrokes, while he demonstrated great footwork, dancing around his backhand to paint the lines with his forehand.

“I have gone one step further than I did here three years ago. Montreal people are really proud people. We are a small community in the world. We support each other in what we do, especially in professional sport,” Auger-Aliassime said in his on-court interview. “When you see an athlete come from the province of Quebec and do big things, people are very proud. It makes me proud to be in that position.”

The sixth seed, who lost to Norrie in the Los Cabos semi-finals last week, is making his fourth appearance at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers and will next play Norway’s Casper Ruud as he looks to win his first ATP Masters 1000 crown. With his victory, Auger-Aliassime is up to seventh in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin.