MONTREAL — Defending National Bank Open men's singles champion Ben Shelton has punched his ticket into the semifinals.
The fifth-seeded American easily defeated Czechia’s Jakub Mensik 6-3, 6-1 Tuesday night at Montreal’s IGA Stadium.
Shelton, who hasn't lost a set during the 2026 tournament, reached his 16th career ATP Tour-level semifinal and first on hard courts since his ATP 500 title in Dallas in February.
Shelton also snapped a two-match losing streak against Mensik, with both of those defeats coming last season.
The match, which was punctuated by long and intense rallies early, ultimately veered Shelton’s way with the American breaking his opponent in the fifth game of the opening set on a clean winner.
Shelton would break again four games later, taking advantage of a Mensik double fault, his ninth unforced error of the set, to strike first.
The American would immediately break to open the second set, going up 2-0 on a powerful forehand winner down the line. Another break of serve would follow shortly.
Mensik finished the match with 16 unforced errors to Shelton’s three. The Czech also committed three double faults, while his opponent only had one.
Shelton now awaits the winner of the nightcap between American compatriot and No. 12 seed Learner Tien and the 63rd-ranked Daniel Merida of Spain.
Earlier Tuesday, 19-year-old Spaniard Rafael Jodar defeated France's Arthur Fils 7-6 (5), 6-3 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 semifinal.
The victory improved Jodar to 34-13 in his debut ATP Tour season. After opening the year ranked No. 168, he has climbed to No. 11 in the live ATP rankings.
“My goal is still the same, to improve and discover all the tournaments in my first year on the tour,” said Jodar. “I want to play a lot of matches if it is possible because of the results. That’s it. I’m not trying to go up in the rankings. I think that is more secondary and something that shouldn’t be your primary goal.”
He also became the first man born in 2006 or later to reach the semifinals of a Masters 1000 event.
Jodar broke Fils in the second game but saw the Frenchman level the opening set after failing to convert five break-point chances over Fils' next two service games.
Play was suspended with Jodar leading 5-4 because of a brief rain shower. After a one-hour delay, Jodar claimed the opening set in a tiebreak before breaking for good in the seventh game of the second set en route to the straight-sets victory.
The win was Jodar's second over Fils in as many tournaments after defeating the Frenchman in Washington, D.C., last week.
Jodar will face Brandon Nakashima in the first of Wednesday night's semifinals after the 28th-seeded American defeated 19th-seeded Italian Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-3.
“(Brandon) is a really tough player,” said Jodar. “If he is in the semifinals, it’s because of something. He’s won matches here and last week as well. He’s playing good tennis, so I will have to get ready for that match because it will be another tough match.”
Nakashima is through to his first Masters 1000 semifinal after never previously advancing beyond the fourth round in 35 main-draw appearances.
"I'm super happy with making my first semifinal," said Nakashima. "It was a goal of mine at the beginning of the year to try to do well at one of these Masters 1000 tournaments. To be able to do it for the first time here is really special."
The American has won seven of his eight hard-court matches since Wimbledon, his only loss coming in last week's semifinals in D.C.
"My serve and my forehand have been really in form the last couple weeks," Nakashima said. "It's something that we have been working on a lot with my team. Obviously, just the overall level of confidence is really high right now."
The victory, Nakashima's 150th at tour level, also lifted him to a career-high No. 25 in the live ATP rankings.
Nakashima broke twice in the opening set before securing the decisive break in the eighth game of the second to sea; the win in one hour, 17 minutes. He finished with 11 aces to Darderi's two.
Both quarterfinals had originally been scheduled for Monday night but were postponed because of thunderstorms.
The National Bank Open continues with both semifinal singles matches Wednesday night. The championship match is Thursday.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 11, 2026.
Jordan Stoopler, The Canadian Press
