Daily Times

TORONTO: Daniil Medvedev had to work his way through a pair of tiebreakers to ensure a 2-6, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (7/5) victory over Hubert Hurkacz and into the semi-finals of the ATP Toronto Masters on Friday. The Russian world number two was caught on the back foot in the opening set, which he lost to his Polish opponent after committing nearly half of his 40 unforced errors on the night. But the top seed gathered his resources to stage a fightback in two and a quarter hours on the way to revenge for a five-set loss he took at Wimbledon against the number 13. Medvedev ended the evening with his 22nd ace on match point. Stefanos Tsitsipas ended the 13-match win streak of Casper Ruud with a clinical 6-1, 6-4 win. A day after turning 23, the Greek world number three celebrated the birthday of his mother Julia, using the big day as inspiration on court. Tsitsipas will play against Reilly Opelka, who sent down 18 aces in a 6-3, 7-6 (7/1) defeat of Spanish 10th seed Roberto Bautista Agut. Norway’s 12th-ranked Ruud has been on fire the past month, winning three European clay titles last month after going out in the Wimbledon first round six weeks ago. Ruud, son of former ATP pro Christian Ruud, had defeated Tsitsipas on Madrid clay in May. But the Greek seed had all the answers in Toronto as he denied Ruud a 100th career match win. Gael Monfils lived up to his showman’s reputation in a 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 loss to John Isner as the pair met for a 13th time. The American posted his ninth consecutive win this season after claiming the Atlanta title last month. He lost to semi-final opponent Medvedev in the ATP Cup last year in Australia.