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This content was machine-translated from the French version.
Ben Shelton answered the call on Sunday in Montreal. Facing Brazil's João Fonseca in the Round of 16 at the National Bank Open, the American defending champion won 6-3, 7-6 (3) in an electric duel between two of the circuit's most spectacular players. The win extends his winning streak in Canada to nine matches.
A highly anticipated generational clash
Fonseca, the Brazilian sensation who has already thrilled on the big courts, came in off a controlled third-round win over Norway's Casper Ruud.
The two men embody the renewal of world tennis. Fonseca, the Brazilian sensation who has already thrilled on the big courts, came in off a controlled third-round win over Norway's Casper Ruud. Shelton, meanwhile, was defending the title he won in Montreal last year. The matchup was one of the most anticipated in the draw, given the promise of spectacle from their contrasting styles: the American's left-handed power against the Brazilian's creativity and nerves of steel. The two had already met in the spring, in the quarterfinals in Munich on clay, with Shelton winning in three sets. On Canada's fast hard courts, it was again his serve that made the difference: unplayable in the first set, he closed it out 6-3 before seeing Fonseca come back with all the energy that makes him one of the circuit's attractions.
The early break, then the ankle that changed everything
Fonseca did not give up. In the second set, he took the lead from the start, going up 3-0 and seemingly finally finding the gap. At that moment, nothing suggested the match would slip away from him: he was hitting hard, serving well, and winning long rallies with impressive consistency. At 3-1, however, while defending a break point, the Brazilian appeared to twist his right ankle on the landing from a smash. He gritted his teeth and continued, but the momentum had shifted. Shelton, more solid in the clutch moments, pulled back and then closed it out in the tiebreak, 7 points to 3. The head-to-head between the two now stands at 2-0 in favor of the American.
Nine in a row, and the machine keeps rolling
As defending champion in Montreal, Shelton has not lost in Canada since his 2025 title run. He had navigated his early rounds without dropping a set, and this streak confirms a real comfort on this fast hard court, where his first serve bounces high and carries weight—a factor Fonseca himself had highlighted before the match. The American followed up in the quarterfinals by dispatching Czech Jakub Menšík, securing his spot in the semifinals of a draw where youth has taken over: all eight quarterfinalists were born in the 2000s.
The question remains how far this defending champion can push his streak. A second title in Montreal would make Shelton the man to beat on North American hard courts just weeks before the US Open, where his renewed confidence and punishing game would immediately place him among the serious contenders. For Fonseca, this defeat hardly tarnishes an already remarkable season, and the prospect of the US Open offers him a rematch within reach.