Defending champion Ben Shelton poured cold water on the red-hot run of 19-year-old Joao Fonseca Sunday at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, where he defeated the Brazilian teenager 6-3, 7-6(3) to advance to the quarterfinals. Shelton will face Jakub Mensik in the last eight.
Neither player had dropped a set this week in Montreal, and Shelton maintained his streak in the fourth round, battling through windy conditions and an early break deficit in both sets to emerge victorious in one hour and 48 minutes.
"It was tough out there today and I competed well," Shelton said. "It wasn't easy conditions to play in. I struggled to find my footing on a lot of balls, as did he. A lot of it just comes down to grit in a match like this. So to come through with a win against a really high-quality player like Joao is huge for me."