Day eight in Montreal completed the quarter-final lineup, although the action on court felt ridiculously sparse for an ATP Masters 1000.
With just four singles matches and a handful of doubles contests scheduled across the entire site, ticket holders on the outside courts had very little to watch, highlighting why expanded two-week Masters 1000s suck, especially when the WTA event is being held in a different city.
Off the court, there was more significant news as world No. 1 Jannik Sinner withdrew from next week’s Cincinnati Open with a right knee injury. The reigning Wimbledon champion says his focus is now on recovering in time for the US Open.
In Montreal, though, the spotlight remained on the defending champion as Ben Shelton ended João Fonseca’s impressive run, Daniel Mérida Aguilar continued his breakthrough, while Learner Tien and Jakub Menšík completed a quarter-final lineup made up entirely of players aged 25 or younger.
Day Eight National Open 2026 Round of 16 Results
Key Match Recap
Ben Shelton def. João Fonseca 6-3, 7-6(3)
Ben Shelton won the most anticipated match of the day, ending João Fonseca’s run with a straight-sets victory in difficult, windy conditions.
Fonseca actually started both sets well, breaking early in the opener and then moving 3-0 ahead in the second, but Shelton responded quickly each time and was overall the more solid player.
Fonseca blitzed plenty of forehands, which look good on the highlights, but Shelton was the more athletic of the two and the American’s ability to take time away from Fonseca proved decisive, especially with his lefty forehand pulling the Brazilian away from his preferred forehand patterns.
The second set looked as though it was going the way of Fonseca until he appeared to tweak his right ankle while chasing an overhead. He played on without calling the trainer, but Shelton gradually regained control before producing an excellent tie-break to close out the match.
Shelton won 78% of his first-serve points and 14 of 18 points at net, and his willingness to come forward made a real difference.
He’s now 2-0 against Fonseca this season and, as the only Top 10 player left in the draw, remains the obvious favourite to retain the title.
Daniel Mérida Aguilar def. Tallon Griekspoor 6-3, 6-1
Daniel Mérida Aguilar’s breakthrough week continued with his most dominant performance yet, dismantling Tallon Griekspoor in just 69 minutes.
Griekspoor had already taken out Alexander Zverev and Matteo Arnaldi, but he looked physically flat here and never found the intensity required.
Mérida took full advantage. The Spaniard was rock solid from the baseline, particularly off the backhand side, and controlled the match from the opening few games.
He arrived in Montreal without a single tour-level hard-court win and now finds himself in his first Masters 1000 quarter-final.
Learner Tien def. Thiago Agustín Tirante 6-4, 6-4
Learner Tien continued his excellent run by beating Thiago Agustín Tirante in two controlled sets.
The windy conditions made clean ball-striking difficult, but Tien is super consistent and handled them far better than his opponent, especially on return.
The 20-year-old is now into his second Masters 1000 quarter-final of the season and becomes the youngest American man to reach the last eight in Canada since Andy Roddick in 2002. He’ll face Mérida next.
Jakub Menšík def. Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 7-5
Jakub Menšík ended Botic van de Zandschulp’s excellent week with a composed straight-sets victory.
The Czech controlled the opener well, but the second set became far more awkward, with Van de Zandschulp serving at 5-4 and looking ready to force a decider.
Menšík responded though, reeling off three straight games to close out the match before the Dutchman could build any momentum.
It wasn’t Menšík’s cleanest performance of the tournament, but he found his best tennis when it mattered and he’ll face Shelton next.
Highlights
National Bank Open 2026 Day 9 Quarterfinal Matches
- (20) Rafael Jódar vs (18) Arthur Fils
- (19) Luciano Darderi vs (28) Brandon Nakashima
