TORONTO - Ben Shelton was in big trouble.
The rising men's tennis star found himself down 4-2 and 5-4 in the third set of his fourth-round match against Flavio Cobolli under Sunday's lights at the ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥ Bank Open.
Shelton found another level and pushed back in impressive fashion to secure a quarterfinal berth.
The competitors then had a testy exchange following the handshake after the 22-year-old American thought his Italian opponent had made a gesture toward him during the tiebreak at Canada's national men's tournament.
"He said it wasn't towards me," said Shelton, who defeated Cobolli 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (1). "We're good. We talked about it in the locker room … there's no story."Â
Shelton, who has a pair of tournament wins to his name, improved to 2-2 against the 23-year-old after also picking up a February victory in Acapulco.Â
"I was really mentally tough," said the Atlanta product. "(Cobolli) did a lot of things throughout the match that made it difficult. I thought he played very well. He's really fast, neutralizes a lot of things that I do well."
A career-high seventh in the ATP Tour's overall rankings, Shelton made the semifinals in Washington last week after falling in the quarters to eventual winner — and world No. 1 — Jannik Sinner at Wimbledon.
No. 2 seed Taylor Fritz of the United States, who entered the event ranked fourth, took on No. 19 Jiri Lehecka in Sunday's late match in northwest Toronto.
Shelton will meet No. 9 seed Alex de Minaur in the quarters on Tuesday after the Australian topped No. 7 Frances Tiafoe of the U.S. 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 in early action at the ATP 1000 Masters event.Â
The big left-hander opened by breaking Cobolli twice in the first set on a windswept Centre Court at Sobeys Stadium.
"My game is well equipped to deal with these conditions," Shelton said. "It helps a lot of my weapons, but when you're not playing in these type of conditions throughout the year it can be difficult to adjust."
The 17th-ranked Cobolli broke to go up 2-1 in the second before needing work on his right leg from a trainer during the changeover.Â
Shelton was down 4-2 in the third set and Cobolli had a chance to serve for the win up 5-4, but he broke the No. 13 seed and then emphatically held.
The fiery Cobolli had done the same to force the tiebreak when Shelton, who made the Australian Open semifinals in January, flexed his muscles a final time by hammering home a 12th ace that sealed the victory.Â
The pair proceeded to have those animated words following a match that had former Toronto Maple Leafs enforcer Tie Domi watching courtside.
"That's always a tough matchup for me," Shelton said. "Happy to come through it."
His dad and coach, former pro player Bryan Shelton, was on his feet between points encouraging his son in the dying moments of the back-and-forth showdown.
"He's been there from the start with me — since I was born," the hard-serving American said with a laugh. "He knows me better than anyone. Sharing this journey together has been really, really cool."
De Minaur, the world No. 8, made the 2023 final in Toronto where he fell to Sinner — among the top players along with No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, No. 5 Jack Draper of Britain and No. 6 Novak Djokovic of Serbia skipping this US$9.19-million hardcourt event — in straight sets.Â
"Told myself that this place brings good memories," said the 26-year-old de Minaur. "And if I just keep on showing up and keep on giving myself a chance, that hopefully the good tennis will come."Â
Shelton and de Minaur have practised together in the past, but Tuesday will mark their first-ever meeting.
"He's a dawg … that's a good thing," Shelton said of last week's winner in Washington. "Very fast. He's in a great rhythm. He's a great front-runner. You can never count him out when he's down."Â
No. 6 Andrey Rublev of Russia also advanced to the quarters when Alejandro Davidovich Fokina retired from a match that ended 6-7 (3), 7-6 (2), 3-0.Â
Rublev, who sat two points from losing in the second set, made last year's NBO final in Montreal and will face either Fritz or Lehecka on Tuesday.
"It was not easy conditions again," said the 27-year-old ranked 11th in the world. "A lot of wind. He was playing really well."Â
Monday's quarterfinal schedule will see top seed Alexander Zverev of Germany take on defending champion and No. 18 Alexei Popyrin of Australia. No. 11 Karen Khachanov of Russia is set to face No. 26 Alex Michelsen in the late showdown.
The tournament on the campus of York University runs through Thursday.Â
This report by ´ºÉ«Ö±²¥was first published Aug. 3, 2025.Â
