Taylor Fritz, America’s top-ranked male tennis player at world No. 4, powered into the semifinals of the 2025 National Bank Open in Toronto with a commanding 6-3, 7-6(4) victory over No. 6 seed Andrey Rublev on August 5, 2025. The win, sealed with 20 aces, including one to clinch the match, set up a blockbuster all-American clash against No. 4 seed Ben Shelton, marking the first such ATP Masters 1000 semifinal since Andy Roddick defeated Mardy Fish in Cincinnati in 2010. Yet, despite his clinical performance, Fritz was vocal about a persistent issue plaguing multiple players at Sobeys Stadium: the challenging combination of lightning-fast courts and Wilson U.S. Open balls, which he says has led to “really ugly tennis” across the tournament. His candid remarks highlight a broader struggle, as players grapple with unforced errors and erratic play in Toronto’s unique conditions.
Fritz’s path to the semifinals showcased his resilience and adaptability. The 27-year-old, who reached the 2024 U.S. Open final and won the United Cup with the U.S. team earlier in 2025, opened his campaign with a hard-fought 7-5, 7-6(1) win over Roberto Carballes Baena, followed by a 6-4, 6-2 rout of Canadian wildcard Gabriel Diallo, a rematch of their five-set Wimbledon epic. His quarterfinal against Rublev was a masterclass, with Fritz firing three aces to open the match and breaking the Russian early to secure the first set. The second set saw Rublev fight back, leveling at 4-4 and pushing to 6-5, but Fritz’s composure in the tiebreak secured his first Canadian Open semifinal. “It was clean,” Fritz said of his performance. “I’m happy with everything.” His 20 aces and ability to save key break points underscored his serving prowess, a weapon that has carried him to a 35-13 record this season, including two grass-court titles.[](https://www.newsday.com/sports/tennis/national-bank-toronto-tennis-atp-tour-f19121)
However, Fritz didn’t shy away from addressing the tournament’s challenging conditions. The combination of Toronto’s rapid court surface and the hard, lively Wilson U.S. Open balls has frustrated many players, leading to a spike in unforced errors and double faults. “I’ve been having an incredibly hard time just putting the ball in the court,” Fritz admitted post-match. “Typically, when I’m missing shots, I know exactly why I’m missing… The conditions have been really hard to just play good tennis. There’s a lot of ugly tennis. There’s a lot of people double-faulting, a lot of mistakes.” He contrasted the balls with the softer Dunlop balls used elsewhere, noting, “They’re not bad, it’s just that the balls we’ve been playing with for the last couple of years are softer and more dead. They slow down off the bounce, they hold on your strings longer. You play with these, they shoot off your racquet, they jump off the court faster.” Comparing Toronto to Washington, D.C., where he recently competed, he added, “I thought D.C. was pretty fast. This is faster, coming through the court even more. It’s just tough to control.”
Fritz’s concerns were echoed by others, including Australian doubles player Ellen Perez, who called the balls “trash” on social media, pointing to their role in high double-fault counts, such as Coco Gauff’s 23 in a single Montreal match. Fritz’s own third-round match against Jiří Lehečka, a 7-6(4), 6-7(5), 7-6(5) marathon, felt more manageable, with Fritz noting, “Tonight was by far the most playable for me — the most control I felt like I had all week.” His ability to adapt to these conditions has positioned him as a favorite against Shelton, whom he defeated in their only prior meeting at Indian Wells in 2023. “He’s a big-match player,” Shelton said of Fritz, acknowledging his clutch performances in major tournaments. The matchup, set for August 7, 2025, carries national pride, as American men have struggled to win big titles, with Roddick’s 2003 U.S. Open the last Grand Slam triumph. “I have no doubt that one of us is going to get it at some point,” Shelton added optimistically.
Fritz’s semifinal run, with top players like Jannik Sinner, Carlos Alcaraz, and Novak Djokovic absent, offers a golden opportunity for his second Masters 1000 title after Indian Wells 2022. The other semifinal pits top seed Alexander Zverev against No. 11 Karen Khachanov, with the final slated for August 8. As Fritz eyes the trophy, his critique of Toronto’s conditions—shared by many players—underscores the mental and technical fortitude required to thrive in such an unpredictable environment. With his powerful serve and growing confidence, Fritz is poised to not only navigate these challenges but also inspire a new era of American tennis dominance.
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