Taylor Fritz secured a place in the next round of the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers after defeating Roberto Carballes Baena 7-5, 7-6(1) on Wednesday. The match, which lasted two hours and 31 minutes, saw Fritz face challenges from his Spanish opponent, particularly during lengthy rallies and after a rain delay.
Fritz, currently ranked World No. 4 in the PIF ATP Rankings, is the first American top-two seed at an ATP Masters 1000 event since Andy Roddick held the top spot in Paris in 2005. His next opponent will be Gabriel Diallo, who remains the last Canadian player in the Toronto draw. Earlier this month at Wimbledon, Fritz won against Diallo in a five-set match.
Reflecting on his performance against Carballes Baena, Fritz said: “Being down that break, getting it back at 5-4 — 30/0 for him too — I played a really good point to get back in that and then I just grinded it out in the breaker. Tough conditions all week here. I feel like even in practice, I’ve had such a hard time just literally putting the ball in the court. Happy to get through that.”
An interruption due to rain occurred before the second-set tie-break. After play resumed, Fritz managed to secure victory without further complications.
Fritz now holds a season record of 33 wins and 13 losses according to Infosys ATP Win/Loss Index data. He aims to reach quarter-finals at all nine ATP Masters 1000 events and is seeking his second title at this level following his win at Indian Wells in 2022.
In other matches on Wednesday, Frances Tiafoe overcame Yosuke Watanuki with scores of 1-6, 7-5, 7-6(5). Despite Watanuki hitting more winners than Tiafoe (45 compared to Tiafoe’s 19), he was unable to convert key opportunities and finished with only two breaks from nine chances.
Christopher O’Connell defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas—seeded twenty-third and finalist at this tournament in 2018—with scores of 6-4, 4-6, 6-2. O’Connell ended a seven-match losing streak on tour-level events with this result and advanced to an ATP Masters third round for only the second time.
Alejandro Davidovich Fokina beat Corentin Moutet while continuing his strong form after reaching a career-high ranking following his runner-up finish recently in Washington D.C., where he lost three championship points against Alex de Minaur. De Minaur also progressed by beating Francisco Comesana; last year he reached the final of this tournament.
Fabian Marozsan eliminated local favorite Felix Auger-Aliassime with straight sets under windy conditions. Marozsan delivered a crucial ace while serving for the match.
Arthur Fils returned from injury to defeat former champion Pablo Carreno Busta and will next play Jiri Lehecka who won over Mackenzie McDonald earlier on Wednesday.