Pablo Carreno Busta continued his tear through the Montreal draw on Saturday night with an all-action semi-final victory against Daniel Evans. The Spaniard won a high-quality battle of unseeded upstarts 7-5, 6-7(7), 6-2 to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 final.

The 31-year-old had a match point in the second-set tie-break but saw his perfect set streak on the week snapped at nine before storming back in a dominant final set. After so little separated the competitors for most of the two-hour, 58-minute marathon, Carreno Busta raced through the finish line by winning the final 12 points, including eight on return.

“It was fun for the crowd but for me it was tough,” he said of the gripping encounter. “I had a match point in the second set but he served pretty good so I couldn’t do anything. When you have a match point and have to play another set, it’s always hard to do it.

“Mentally I think I was very good. Probably the beginning of the third set was the hardest part of the match. But after that I thought I had to be more aggressive, try to push a lot, try to go to the net, and it was good.”

Carreno Busta will next face eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz as he bids to become the first unseeded champion at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers since Argentina’s Guillermo Canas in 2002.

The World No. 23 advanced to his second final of the season (Barcelona) by pairing his aggressive baseline game with a dominant first-serve performance in which he won 79 per cent (49/62) of points on his first delivery. He fired 43 winners and broke on five of his eight chances as he took control of the match down the stretch.

Despite neither player being seeded, this semi-final was a heavyweight fight complete with both men hitting the deck after being wrong-footed in a bruising rally. After Evans fell earlier in the match, Carreno Busta slipped late in the second-set tie-break to hand a mini-break back to Evans.

According to INSIGHTS: In Attack metrics, Carreno Busta was the aggressor throughout the evening, playing more balls from attacking positions than his opponent. But the gap was widest in the final set as he turned the screw, recovering from a lost match point to land the decisive blows. The Spaniard played 28 per cent of his shots from attacking positions in the third set, double the percentage of his opponent.

Carreno Busta did much of his attacking from the backcourt, while Evans put the pressure on with 45 net approaches, winning 32 of them (71%).

The Spaniard knocked off seeded Italians Matteo Berrettini and Jannik Sinner to kickstart his Montreal run, a welcome change from what he called “probably the worst year of my career”. He now has a chance to claim his seventh and biggest ATP Tour title.

“This week, I don’t know why but the level was unbelievable,” he said. “I played really good matches at the beginning of the tournament. Yesterday [against Jack Draper] was not the best match but I suffered and I competed a lot. Today was the same. Probably I didn’t play the best tennis of the week but it’s very important to win these kind of matches when you are not playing your best. Happy to be in the final…. For sure I’m excited.”

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Carreno Busta has moved up 14 spots to 15th place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin this week, with a chance to move up to 11th with the title.

He and Hurkacz split their two previous ATP Head2Head meetings, both in 2021, with the Spaniard winning in Cincinnati and Hurkacz victorious in the Metz final.

That week in Metz, Hurkacz also won the doubles title with fellow Pole Jan Zielinski. His hopes of repeating that title sweep in Montreal were ended Saturday by Evans and John Peers in the semi-finals, where the British-Australian pair defeated Hurkacz and Zielinski 7-5, 4-6, 10-4.

#NextGenATP Italian Lorenzo Musetti began his quest to qualify for the Western & Southern Open by taking down German Daniel Altmaier 6-7(5), 6-4, 6-3 in two-hours, 46 minutes in Saturday’s first-round qualifying match at the Lindner Family Tennis Center.

Musetti, 20, who claimed his first Tour-level title at the ATP 500 event in Hamburg this past month, joined countrymen Fabio Fognini and Lorenzo Sonego to complete an Italian trifecta. Fognini needed a third set tie-break to defeat Soonwoo Kwon 5-7, 6-4, 7-6(3), while Sonego had a comfortable, straight-sets victory over John Millman 7-5, 6-2, earning his first victory on a hard court since the Australian Open.

The Italians will all chase a main-draw birth Sunday as they play back-to-back-to-back on Court seven.

Also part of the star-studded qualifying field is David Goffin, a former finalist in Cincinnati, who needed just 45 minutes today to defeat Frenchman Hugo Gaston, 6-1, 6-0.

Marcos Giron won the all-American contest against Denis Kudla, 6-3, 6-2, joining Steve Johnson and Bradley Klahn as the only Americans remaining in Cincinnati’s qualifying draw.

Thanasi Kokkinakis won 27/30 (90%) of his first serve points before Benoit Paire was forced to retire, giving the Australian a 7-6, 3-1 victory. That sets up a second round qualifying match against Ilya Ivashka, who ousted home favourite Jack Sock 6-2, 6-3.

The final round of qualifying will be held on Sunday and will send seven players to the main draw at the Western & Southern Open.

Hubert Hurkacz continues to hang tough in Montreal.

The eighth seed rallied from losing a see-saw first set to seal a 5-7, 6-3, 6-2 semi-final victory against Casper Ruud at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers on Saturday, his fourth consecutive three-set victory of the week.

After Ruud impressively recovered a 0-3 deficit to take the opening set, Hurkacz regained his composure to dictate the rest of the proceedings with some aggressive hitting and level the pair’s ATP Head2Head series at 1-1. The Pole’s power from deep brought him regular success against the Ruud delivery, with Hurkacz converting five from eight break points en route to a two-hour, two-minute victory at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

“I was trying to stay in the game,” said Hurkacz after the match when asked about the early pressure he faced on Court Central. “Casper was playing really incredible tennis and he was the better player at the beginning, especially for the first set and a half. I was trying to stay in the game and hold on to compete as good as I can.”

Hurkacz had already battled past Emil Ruusuvuori, Albert Ramos-Vinolas and Nick Kyrgios in matches that went the distance this week in Quebec. Despite the demanding nature of his victories, Hurkacz was confident he would be ready to bring his best for the final, where he will face Pablo Carreno Busta or Daniel Evans.

“It’s OK, said the Pole, who has now triumphed in his past six three-set matches. “Physically I feel good. I’ve been putting a lot of work in these past weeks. So far, so good!”

Hurkacz had initially started well and broke Ruud’s serve immediately on the way to a 3-0 lead, but the Norwegian dug deep and demonstrated the sort of resilience that has earned him three ATP Tour titles in 2022. He reeled off three games in a row before producing a high-quality return game at 5-5 to earn a second break of the Hurkacz serve, which had proved impenetrable in the quarter-finals against Kyrgios.

With his serve under pressure, it was Hurkacz’s return game that dragged him back into the match in the second and third sets, with the Pole striking particularly cleanly off his backhand wing. He broke serve twice in each set to seal what was ultimately a comfortable victory and reach his second final of the season.

Hurkacz’s desire to stay on the front foot in rallies proved crucial to his comeback win. The INSIGHTS Conversion statistics show this was particularly decisive in the third set, when Hurkacz won 80 per cent (16/20) of points when attacking, well above his average of 70.4 per cent for the week in Montreal so far.

Halle champion Hurkacz is chasing his second title of 2022 and his second at Masters 1000 level, following his victory in Miami in 2021. The 25-year-old’s run to the final in Montreal has lifted him two spots to ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin, with Hurkacz set to rise to fifth if he claims the title as he looks to qualify for the Nitto ATP Finals for the second straight year.

“The finals are always very tricky,” said Hurkacz. “The best players from each half are playing there, so obviously whoever I’m going to play will have a lot of momentum, a lot of confidence. It’s just going to be a super tough battle.”

Third seeds Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski clinched a match tie-break for the second consecutive day in Montreal Saturday to advance to their eighth final of the season (5-2). After dropping the first set, Koolhof and Skupski rallied to beat two-time Roland Garros champions Kevin Krawietz and Andreas Mies 3-6, 6-2, 10-8.

Koolhof and Skupski are the top duo in the Pepperstone ATP Live Doubles Teams Rankings. Coming into Montreal, they were on a three-match skid, but the pair has quickly turned it around and will compete for its second ATP Masters 1000 title of the season on Sunday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers.

Attempting to capture their sixth title of the year, they will take on either Poland’s Jan Zielinski and Hubert Hurkacz, or Daniel Evans and John Peers. That match is scheduled last in Saturday’s order of play, following Evans’ singles semi-final match against Spaniard Pablo Carreno-Busta.

Andy Murray will compete at the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati after moving into the main draw on Saturday.

The former World No. 1 was due to compete in qualifying, but has now taken the unused special exempt spot, which opened up following Jack Draper’s defeat in Montreal on Friday. The Scot will face Swiss star Stan Wawrinka in a popcorn first-round match in Cincinnati.

Murray has a strong record in Ohio, having triumphed at the hard-court ATP Masters 1000 event in 2008 and 2011, before he advanced to the final in 2016. He joins a stacked field in Cincinnati, featuring World No. 1 Daniil Medvedev, Rafael Nadal and Carlos Alcaraz.

Wesley Koolhof and Neal Skupski will aim to capture a Tour-leading sixth title of the season and strengthen their lead in the Pepperstone ATP Doubles Teams Rankings when they compete at the Western & Southern Open next week.

However, their task won’t be easy in Cincinnati, with the third seeds facing a series of potential testing assignments in a stacked top half. The Dutch-British tandem could face singles star Carlos Alcaraz and Pablo Carreno Busta in their opening match, if the Spaniards can overcome Santiago Gonzalez and Edouard Roger-Vasselin. Carreno Busta won the doubles title with Alex de Minaur in 2020.

Koolhof and Skupski are on a collision course to meet Roland Garros finalists Ivan Dodig and Austin Krajicek in the quarter-finals, while they could face Rajeev Ram and Joe Salisbury in the semi-finals.

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The top seeds, who have six tour-level trophies together, including two ATP Masters 1000 titles, could play Australian Open champs Thanasi Kokkinakis and Nick Kyrgios in a popcorn second-round clash. Kokkinakis and Kyrgios will open against Simone Bolelli and Fabo Fognini.

Eighth seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah are also in the top half and they face a difficult first-round encounter against 2017 winners Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares.

Reigning champions Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos are in the bottom half and will open against singles stars Grigor Dimitrov and Andrey Rublev or Daniel Evans and John Peers.

The second seeds are seeded to meet Roland Garros victors Marcelo Arevalo and Jean-Julien Rojer in the semi-finals, with the fourth seeds potentially playing Croatians Nikola Mektic and Mate Pavic in the quarter-finals.

#NextGenATP Dane Holger Rune and World No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas are teaming, while former World No. 3 Stan Wawrinka will join forces with Pole Lukasz Kubot.

It took a 20-ace barrage for eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz of Poland to bring white-hot Aussie Nick Kyrgios’ streak to an end, 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 6-1, on Friday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers. Beginning with his run to the Wimbledon final, Kyrgios had won 15 of his past 16 matches, including nine straight and the title tilt in Washington.

But the extended match play may have caught up to the 27-year-old in IGA Stadium against Hurkacz, who also got the best of him during a trophy surge earlier this summer in Halle. (Asked if he had a better read on Kyrgios than his ATP counterparts, Hurkacz smiled, “Probably not.”)

The Montreal draw blew wide open for Hurkacz, with five of the top eight seeds, including World No. 1 and defending champ Daniil Medvedev, gone before the quarter-finals. However, the 23-year-old Pole isn’t at all surprised by the shakeup.

“The level is so close now between the guys ranked from Top 10 to Top 40, so it maybe looks on paper like some of the guys are below, but the level is really incredible,” said the 25-year-old, through to an ATP Masters 1000 semi-final for the fourth time. “Every single match is fifty-fifty.”

Hurkacz’s semi-final opponent is the highest seed still standing, Casper Ruud of Norway, who is up to No. 5 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings and poised to reach a career-high No. 4 should he win Saturday.

Ruud, who played the role of spoiler against hometown favourite Felix Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals, claimed a four-set affair against Hurkacz in their only previous encounter en route to the Roland Garros final in June, 6-2, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3.

Ruud is getting more comfortable on tennis’ biggest stages by the day. This is already his third Masters 1000 semi-final of the year.

“Sometimes it’s a bit of coincidence and the draw, the players you like to play or not. But this is a very good result for me,” said the 23-year-old, who already owns three titles on the year (Buenos Aires, Geneva, Gstaad). “I didn’t think it was too likely to happen being that it was my first hard-court tournament back. But I’ve been playing great since the first point of the first match until the last point today, so I’m very happy with the level that I’m able to put out.” 

Both players have had success on hard courts at the ATP Masters 1000 level. Ruud played his way into the Miami Open final in April, while Hurkacz won the same event in 2021 (def. Jannik Sinner, 7-6(4), 6-4).

“It’s going to be a tough one. Hubert is always dangerous, a good player on any surface — especially on hard courts,” said Ruud. “He knows what it takes to win a Masters 1000 event. He’s back in a semi-final, and he’s looking sharp, looking strong.”

Hurkacz leads the four semi-finalists in the INSIGHTS: In Attack metric, playing 24.4 per cent of his shots in attack this week. But Ruud paces the pack in Steal rate, winning 40.6 per cent of points from defence. (Learn more about INSIGHTS.)

You might have pegged three-time Slam champ Andy Murray or 2021 Indian Wells titlist Cameron Norrie, not 39th-ranked Daniel Evans, to be the last Brit standing in Montreal, but it’s the 32-year-old veteran who is into his second ATP Masters 1000 semi-final after a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 reversal-of-fortunes against American Tommy Paul.

Evans, who’ll face Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta for the first time, is clearly relishing the opportunity before him. He’s well aware of what’s at stake.

“Listen, anybody who tells you they don’t think about the position in the tournament they are, they’re lying. You take care of business, but it’s always in the back of your head what part of the tournament you’re in,” he said. “It’s what you play tennis for. It’s why I’m out here fighting, trying each day with the practice, with the fitness.”

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Carreno Busta, a 7-6(4), 6-1 winner over Great Britain’s Jack Draper in the quarters, is into his third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final — all three coming on hard courts.

“It’s very important for my confidence, for myself,” said Carreno Busta, who hasn’t dropped a set all week. “I’m playing very solid. I know tomorrow I have the opportunity to be in the final. I need to be 100 per cent again. I need to recover as much as I can. Evans is having an incredible week also, so we’ll see. But I have another opportunity to be in a final.” 

Daniel Evans was being played off the court by a red-hot Tommy Paul in the pair’s Montreal quarter-final on Friday evening. But the workmanlike Briton kept the faith in his steady game to advance to his second career ATP Masters 1000 semi-final with a hard-fought 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory.

“The crowd, that’s what they buy their tickets for. That’s live sport,” Evans said in his post-match press conference. “You never know what’s going to happen. It was an amazing match, amazing atmosphere. I played on the court before. In the day it was amazing, but at night, there’s something about playing sport at night, it’s extra special.”

After Paul filled up the highlight reel with his pace and powerful ground game early on, Evans capitalised on the slightest of openings in sets two and three to win both by a single break. The 32-year-old secured an early lead in the deciding set, then crucially escaped 15/40 to move within one game of victory at 5-3.

Evans saw a match point go begging in spectacular fashion on return and absorbed one last Paul backhand pass on serve before completing the turnaround by expertly backing up strong serving in the clutch.

“I just didn’t think he could carry that on,” Evans said of his opponent’s blistering start. “If he did, I had to walk off and shake his hand.”

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In his 4-3 service game in the final set, Evans rode his luck as Paul clipped the tape on a mid-court forehand — the sort of ball he feasted on for much of the two-hour, 17-minute contest. The World No. 39 took matters into his own hands the rest of the way as he powered to the key hold.

Evans saved six of eight break points in the match as he withstood 41 winners from Paul, who stunned second seed Carlos Alcaraz on Wednesday. The American moved up three places to No. 31 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings by reaching the quarter-finals, setting himself up to reach a new career-high.

With wins against fifth seed Andrey Rublev and 10th seed Taylor Fritz in the previous two rounds, Evans is through to his second Masters 1000 semi-final in as many years. He upset then-World No. 1 Novak Djokovic to reach that stage at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters in 2021 and also reached back-to-back Masters 1000s doubles finals with countryman Neal Skupski last season (Miami, Monte Carlo).

With victory in his first ATP Head2Head meeting with Paul, Evans improved his 2022 record to 19-17 and sealed progress to a second tour-level semi-final of the year (Sydney). He has moved up 16 places to No. 23 in the Pepperstone ATP Live Rankings this week and also occupies 23rd place in the Pepperstone ATP Live Race To Turin.

As he turned the tide in the second set against the American, Evans excelled at winning points from attacking positions, as illustrated by INSIGHTS: Conversion statistics from TennisViz. His 70 per cent conversion rate on such points exceeded the ATP Tour average of 66 per cent.

Figure 1: Daniel Evans won 70 per cent of points played in attack in the second set, surpassing the ATP Tour average.

An all-British semi-final could be on the cards, with #NextGenATP star Jack Draper set to take on Spain’s Pablo Carreno Busta to close the Montreal evening session.

“Hopefully those boys have a great match,” Evans said. “Jack’s an amazing talent. He’s going to be around. You’re going to see him here [at the top of the game for] 10 years easy. It’s a great moment for him. I hope he goes out there, enjoys it, whatever happens.

“Carreno [Busta] is a great player, experienced pro. Underestimated a lot. He’s a very tough opponent.”