World no. 4 Taylor Fritz will compete in his seventh Masters 1000 semi-final in Toronto. The American faced Andrey Rublev for the tenth time in the quarter-final and earned a 6-3, 7-6 victory in an hour and 21 minutes.
Taylor claimed the opener with an early break. He served for the win at 5-4 in set number two, wasting a match point and allowing his rival to extend the battle. However, the better-ranked player grabbed an early mini-breakin the tie break to avoid a decided.
Fritz took 14 points more. He fired 20 aces and denied three of four break pointsin the only troubled game. Andrey played against two break points, failing to defend any and ending his run in the last eight.
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Taylor built a massive 34-17 advantage in service winners and tamed his strokes nicely, hitting 29 winners and 21 unforced error. Rublev led 21-12 in the most extended rallies but struggled in the shortest ones.
Fritz was off to a perfect start. He held at love in the first game of the match and landed a backhand down the line winner a few minutes later for a break at love and a 2-0 advantage.
The Russian extended the third game with a winner before the American closed it with another fine backhand attack for 3-0. They served well in the remaining games, and Taylor held at 30 in game nine for 6-3 after 31 minutes.
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The returners had no chances in the opening eight games of the second set, with the servers bringing them home in 21 minutes for 4-4. Andrey squandered a game point in game nine and got broken after a forehand error right after the serve.
World no. 4 served for the win at 5-4 and faced the only issues in his games. Taylor saved three break points and earned a match point with an ace. Rubelv denied it with a solid return and grabbed his only break after a backhand error from his opponent.
The set went into a tie break, and Fritz secured a mini-break in the first point with a deep return and a forced error. The American moved 3-0 up after a couple of errors from his opponent.
Andrey played two fine points on serve and reduced the gap to 5-4. However, he netted a routine forehand in the tenth point, offering Fritz a match point. World no. 4 sealed the deal with his 20th ace, moving into his seventh Masters 1000 semi-final.
