MONTREAL — Ben Shelton won’t look past the talent remaining in the men’s singles draw.
The charismatic American is, however, putting himself in prime position to repeat as National Bank Open champion.
Shelton overpowered up-and-coming Brazilian Joao Fonseca 6-3, 7-6 (3) in the Round of 16 on Sunday night at IGA Stadium, rallying from an early break in both sets to advance to the quarterfinals.
“It’s always a confidence-builder when you’re down a break and get it back,” the fifth-seeded Shelton said. “I was happy with the way that I returned and fought back in the match.”
Shelton also fought through windy conditions on centre court, firing serves that approached 230 kilometres per hour.
The 23-year-old hit five aces to none for Fonseca and put 71 per cent of his first serves in play to reach his seventh quarterfinal at an ATP Masters 1000 event.
Fonseca, the No. 22 seed, struck three double faults and landed 64 per cent of his first serves, winning just 58 per cent of those points.
The 19-year-old Brazilian bluntly summed up where he fell short.
“He served well, I served bad,” Fonseca said. “Congrats to him.”
Shelton won his first Masters 1000 title last year in Toronto. At No. 10 in the world, he’s the highest-ranked player remaining in the tournament following a flurry of dropouts and swift exits.
He’ll face No. 13 seed Jakub Mensik of Czechia in the quarterfinals. Mensik, 20, defeated Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands 6-4, 7-5 on Sunday night.
“We know each other very well, so it’s going to be a great match. I’m really excited for it,” said Mensik, who’s won two of three career matchups against Shelton. “It’s going to be a game about the serve, so I hope I can find a way and be the one who will go through.”
Against Fonseca, Shelton took control of a back-and-forth opening set with a late break to go up 5-3. After trading points through several deuces, he converted his second break opportunity in a game that lasted 19 minutes.
The big-serving lefty then held comfortably, beating Fonseca with a well-placed lob before firing a forehand winner down the line to take the set.
Fonseca — backed by recurring chants of “Jooo-ao! Fon-se-caaaa!” — responded with a 3-0 start to the second set after breaking Shelton with a sweet lob.
Trouble struck a few games later when Fonseca appeared to twist his right ankle while jumping for a smash while defending a break point. He held his ankle at the net in discomfort before taking a seat on the bench to gather himself, saying afterward the injury was “nothing serious.”
“Something that I felt in the moment and then after I just started not feeling anymore,” he said. “It was just scary.”
The scare still appeared to shift the momentum.
Shelton broke back when Fonseca sent a backhand wide, then held serve to level the set at 3-3.
Fonseca carried on and took a 6-5 lead, fending off a break point with one of several forehand winners. But Shelton forced a tiebreak, then jumped out to a 3-0 lead as Fonseca struggled to handle his serve.
The Brazilian sent a backhand wide on serve to give Shelton a 6-2 advantage and four match points, then put a backhand into the net two points later to end the match.
“I knew it was going to be difficult to return today. I had my chances, two early breaks in both sets, but I played bad,” Fonseca said. “What can I say? I played bad. I didn’t play good, and I need to work on it.”
Earlier Sunday, 20-year-old American Learner Tien advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante.
He’ll meet Spain’s Daniel Merida Aguilar, who beat Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands 6-3, 6-1.
Along with Mensik, 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jodar and Fonseca before his elimination, Tien is part of a youth movement pushing into the late rounds of the tournament.
“One guy does well, and all the other guys want to catch him,” Tien said. “It is great for the sport. I think all young guys are doing a good job at pushing each other and motivating each other.”
The National Bank Open took a hit when world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic withdrew before the tournament.
The Canadian contingent and most of the remaining top seeds — including second-seeded Félix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal — then bounced out early with injuries and losses.
Shelton, perhaps one of the game’s future stars, is now on track to take full advantage.
“There’s still so many guys in the draw who are playing top-level tennis right now. Between Jodar, (Arthur) Fils, Mensik, I mean it’s a lot of young guys,” Shelton said. “There’s still so much talent in the draw.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 9, 2026.
Daniel Rainbird, The Canadian Press
