The washed-out Monday meant all four quarter-finals were on Tuesday’s schedule, delivering one of the busiest days of the tournament after the two-week format left most days threadbare.
Defending champion Ben Shelton produced arguably the performance of the week to dismantle Jakub Menšík, while fellow American Learner Tien reached his maiden Masters 1000 semi-final to set up an all-American clash.
In the other half, Rafael Jódar’s season gathered even more momentum with another composed win over Arthur Fils, and Brandon Nakashima completed the line-up by defeating Luciano Darderi to reach the biggest semi-final of his career.
With every semi-finalist aged 25 or younger, Montreal is guaranteed a youthful finalist, but I do have some question marks about the overall level on tour right now.
Here’s how the quarter-finals played out.
Day Ten National Open 2026 Quarterfinal Results
Match Recap
Brandon Nakashima def. Luciano Darderi 6-2, 6-3
Brandon Nakashima continued the best Masters 1000 run of his career with an assured straight-sets victory over Luciano Darderi.
Fresh off breaking his Round of 16 hoodoo, the American never allowed Darderi to establish the heavy baseline rhythm that had carried the Italian to the quarter-finals.
Nakashima absorbed the pace comfortably, redirected the ball with his trademark consistency and steadily pulled away as the match progressed.
With a new career-high ranking guaranteed, he’ll now have the opportunity to reach the biggest final of his career when he takes on Rafael Jódar in the semi-finals.
Match Stats
Rafael Jódar def. Arthur Fils 7-6(5), 6-3
Rafael Jódar’s tear-up continued as the 19-year-old booked his maiden Masters 1000 semi-final with another victory over Arthur Fils.
The opening set was the real battle. Jódar saw an early 4-1 lead disappear before a rain delay interrupted play, but he remained composed after the restart and edged a high-quality tie-break.
Fils briefly threatened another comeback after recovering an early break deficit in the second set, yet Jódar never lost belief, immediately regaining control before closing out the match.
I have often called Fils an athlete first, tennis player second, and I think that showed here as Jódar’s tactical maturity stood out.
He absorbs pace brilliantly, chooses the right moments to attack and rarely looks flustered under pressure.
The rain delay came at the wrong time for Fils as he was building a bit of momentum after recovering the deficit, but Jodar is far more composed.
Match Stats
Learner Tien def. Daniel Mérida Aguilar 6-3, 6-2
Learner Tien ended Daniel Mérida Aguilar’s run with another calm and composed display.
Mérida had been one of the stories of the tournament after arriving in Montreal without a tour-level hard-court win before reaching his maiden Masters 1000 quarter-final.
He even broke serve in the opening game, but Tien quickly settled, reeled off the next four games and never really looked back.
The American served solidly after that early wobble, converted four of his eight break-point opportunities and wrapped up his first Masters 1000 semi-final in just over an hour. Rock steady from the 12th seed.
Match Stats
Ben Shelton def. Jakub Menšík 6-3, 6-1
Ben Shelton produced his best performance of the tournament to dismantle Jakub Menšík in just 73 minutes and continue his flawless title defence.
The American barely put a foot wrong, blasting 18 winners while committing just three unforced errors in a stunning display of first-strike tennis.
His returning was particularly impressive (not something you say often) against one of the biggest servers on tour, repeatedly neutralising Menšík’s delivery before taking control of the rallies.
Shelton didn’t face a single break point, won 89% of his first-serve points, unleashed a 147mph serve, and I thought the scoreline would be far closer.
Match Stats
Highlights
National Bank Open 2026 Day 11 Semi-Final Matches
- (12) Learner Tien vs (5) Ben Shelton
- (20) Rafael Jódar vs (28) Brandon Nakashima
