TORONTO: Fourth-seeded Ben Shelton beat second-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3 in an all-American semifinal match Wednesday night in the National Bank Open Open.
Shelton will face 11th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia, a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4) winner over top-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany in the first semifinal in Masters 1000 hard-court event.
"I've seen so many big improvements in my game this week, that's what I'm most happy about, how I'm executing, how little I'm hesitating, how I'm returning," Shelton said.
"There are a lot of things to be proud about and beating two top-10 guys back-to-back is huge for me."
The 22-year-old Shelton is seeking his third career ATP Tour title. He won in Tokyo on hard courts in 2023 and Houston last year on clay.
"I'm just really excited to see myself executing like this, not wondering if the shot is going to go in or out, but expecting it to go in," Shelton said.
The 26-year-old Fritz has 10 career victories, winning this year on grass at Stuttgart and Eastbourne.
The start of the match was delayed 15 minutes because of a problem with the electronic line-calling system.
Khachanov, a seven-time tour winner, survived a match point.
"Today was a real close one," Khachanov said "I was match-point down. If the ball touches the net and drops over we wouldn't be talking now."
Zverev, the 2017 champion with 24 tour titles, is No. 3 in the world.
"The first set was terrible," Zverev said. "I kind of gave him a headstart and he's too good to not use that."
Zverev was the top seed with top-ranked Jannik Sinner — the 2023 winner — and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz skipping the expanded event.