If Roger Federer was warming up earlier this week in Montreal, the second seed hit a higher gear on Saturday afternoon during his semi-final against Robin Haase at the Coupe Rogers.

The Swiss right-hander struck “Are you kidding?” backhand passes and was untouchable on serve on Court Central. He dropped only nine points on serve (45/54) and hit 28 winners, including nine aces, against Haase, who was playing in his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final.

But the 30-year-old Dutchman was eager for the fight, pushing Federer to a second-set tie-break before the all-time great advanced 6-3, 7-6(5) to reach the Montreal title match. The 36 year old will be going for his third Canadian Masters 1000 crown (2004, 2006 in Toronto) and his 27^th Masters 1000 title.

But he has never won the Canadian Masters in Montreal. If he wins on Sunday, he’ll have won a tour-level crown in 31 cities. Federer will meet #NextGenATP German Alexander Zverev or #NextGenATP Canadian Denis Shapovalov in the final, which will be Federer’s sxith of the season. He has now won 16 consecutive matches.

The Swiss right-hander owns a 2-1 advantage against Zverev in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, including a 6-1, 6-3 victory in the Gerry Weber Open final in Halle in June. Federer has never faced Shapovalov, who’s the youngest Masters 1000 semi-finalist (since 1990).

Earlier in the week, Federer talked about struggling to implement his aggressive game plan. In the third round, he dropped the opening set against Spaniard David Ferrer, a player he’s now beaten 17 consecutive times.

But Federer was sharp from the start against Haase, breaking twice for a 3-1 lead. He served out the set to 15.

Haase, though, who’s hitting top form after battling injuries for years, refused to back down. The right-hander tidied up his service games, striking eight aces and never facing a break point in the second set. But Federer found his way through the tie-break, advancing to the his third Masters 1000 final of the season when Haase lifted a forehand long.

Next week at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati, Federer will go head-to-head with rival Rafael Nadal to see which player will replace Andy Murray as World No. 1 on August 21.

Rohan Bopanna and Ivan Dodig saved two match points on Saturday at the Coupe Rogers in Montreal to reach their first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final as a team. The Indian/Croatian pairing hit 10 aces to advance 4-6, 7-6(8), 11-9 against South African Raven Klaasen and Rajeev Ram of the U.S.

Klaasen/Ram, who were looking to make their second Masters 1000 title match (Indian Wells), held match points at 7/6 and 8/7 in the second-set tie-break, but Bopanna/Dodig won the final three points to force the Match Tie-break.

Bopanna/Dodig are playing together for only the second time. They reached the semi-finals of the Aegon Championships at The Queen’s Club in June. Dodig, partnering with Marcelo Melo, won the Montreal doubles title last year.

Fifth seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut face eighth seeds Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic in the second doubles semi-final.

The #NextGenATP leader v. the #NextGenATP rookie? Saturday’s Coupe Rogers semi-final in Montreal between 20 year old Alexander Zverev and 18 year old Denis Shapovalov will be a historic meeting between #NextGenATP players.

Zverev set the semi-final date late on Friday evening, beating Kevin Anderson of South Africa 7-5, 6-4 to reach his second Masters 1000 semi-final. The #NextGenATP German recorded his 44^th match win of the season and has now strung together eight consecutive victories, including two over Anderson. Zverev beat Anderson on Sunday to win the Citi Open title in Washington, D.C.

“I’m trying not to think about it too much. I’m trying to play every match the same way,” Zverev said of his recent run. 

Shapovalov continued his dream tournament in Canada with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 win against Frenchman Adrian Mannarino. The #NextGenATP Canadian became the youngest ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-finalist. He and Zverev have never played.

“He’s doing an amazing job of getting to the semis here. He’s so young. He’s playing amazing tennis,” Zverev said. “I’m going to try play the best tennis that I can, to make it difficult for him. It’s going to be, hopefully, a great match.”

With Shapovalov rightfully hogging the spotlight in Montreal, Zverev is quietly enjoying another deep run at a big tournament. The 6’6″ German saved three match points against Frenchman Richard Gasquet to win his opener, and he advanced in straight sets against Nick Kyrgios to gain his first victory against the Aussie in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series.

Against Anderson, Zverev improved to 4-0 in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series. He hit nine aces and overcame seven double faults in the 92-minute victory. Anderson did well to break Zverev and get back on serve in the first set, but the German broke Anderson once more to take the opener.

Zverev would gain another break in the second set to advance to another semi-final. He also reached a Masters 1000 semi-final in Rome en route to celebrating his maiden Masters 1000 title (d. Djokovic).

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The dream lives. #NextGenATP Denis Shapovalov continued the run of his life on Friday night, overcoming a slow and nervy start to advance to the semi-finals of the Coupe Rogers in Montreal.

The 18-year-old Canadian beat Frenchman Adrian Mannarino 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 on Court Central, where Shapovalov has earned legions of supporters this week at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament.

He first knocked off Juan Martin del Potro, then World No. 2 Rafael Nadal in the third round, and Mannarino was the latest established ATP veteran to go down against the spirited left-hander, who’s fiery play has created an electric atmosphere on the main court.

Shapovalov, at No. 143 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, was already projected to break the Top 100 of the Emirates ATP Rankings at No. 100. But he’s now expected to jump to No. 67.

His semi-final run will also help him surge to third place in the Emirates ATP Race to Milan, which will determine seven of the eight 21-and-under players who compete at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan. The eighth player will be determined by wild card.

Shapovalov continues to make Masters 1000 history as well. He became the youngest player to reach a Masters 1000 quarter-final (since 1990), and he’ll try to do the unthinkable before this week and advance to the Coupe Rogers final. He’ll face either South African Kevin Anderson or #NextGenATP German Alexander Zverev in the semi-finals.

Zverev owns a 3-0 record against Anderson in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, including a straight-set win in the Citi Open final last week.

Perhaps it was the late finish from his riveting upset against Nadal or nerves from his first Masters 1000 quarter-final, but either way, Shapovalov started slowly against Mannarino, who was also looking to make his first Masters 1000 semi-final.

The Canadian struggled to stay in rallies against the Frenchman, and Mannarino took advantage, breaking the Canadian twice and cruising to a one-set lead. Shapovalov won just 55 per cent of his first-serve points in the first set.

Oh. My. Word!

What a backhand pass! ?#CoupeRogers pic.twitter.com/7YELpdHJNK

— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 12, 2017

He settled in during the second set, though. After a brief rain delay, the Canadian broke immediately for 4-2, helped by a Mannarino double fault. He sealed the set on serve and encouraged the crowd, as he’s done all this week, lifting his arms to elicit their praise.

In the third set, Mannarino recovered from an early break, but the Canadian showed fearlessness in the big moments. He broke Mannarino for a 5-4 advantage when the Frenchman netted a forehand. The 18 year old clinched the quarter-final with a body serve that Mannarino struck wide.

Roger Federer remains on course to lift his 27th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title and put pressure on Rafael Nadal in the two-man battle to replace Andy Murray at No. 1 in the Emirates ATP Rankings.

Bidding to capture his first trophy in Montreal – and his third overall in Canada – Federer produced a spellbinding blend of power and finesse to outclass No. 12 seed Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 in 68 minutes on Friday afternoon at the Coupe Rogers. It was his seventh straight win over the Spaniard and Federer is now 34-2 on the season, which includes an ATP World Tour-high five titles.

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There is no denying ‘The Great One’ Wayne Gretzky’s control of the puck on a hockey rink in his heyday. Not so great it would seem when it comes to controlling his phone. 

The retired four-time Stanley Cup champion was taking in Thursday night’s Coupe Rogers match between Canadian Denis Shapovalov and Rafael Nadal when he managed to drop his phone under the stands in the front row of Court Central. Fortunately, a trio of ball boys came to the rescue and after a considerable search the wayward phone was located.