MONTREAL/WASHINGTON, August 13, 2026 (by Michael Dickens)
With three American players competing in the National Bank Open presented by Rogers semifinals on Wednesday evening at Montreal’s Jarry Park, it guaranteed that at least one player from the United States would make it to Thursday’s title match of the ATP Masters 1000 event that is a tune-up for the US Open later this month.
Not since 1992, when Andre Agassi, Ivan Lendl and MaliVai Washington reached the semifinals of the Canadian event, have the U.S. garnered three of four semifinal berths.
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This year, defending champion and fifth seed Ben Shelton, No. 12 seed Learner Tien and No. 28 seed Brandon Nakashima each strung together four victories to reach the last four. The outlier in the semifinal quartet was No. 20 seed Rafael Jodar of Spain, just 19, who opposed the 25-year-old Nakashima in a meeting of first-time ATP Masters 1000 semifinalists in the opening semifinal on Centre Court at IGA Stadium– each seeking the biggest final of their respective careers.
Meanwhile, Shelton and Tien met in a battle of American lefties in the second semifinal – the first all-lefty ATP Masters 1000 semifinal since 2019.
As it happened in the opener, Nakashima overcame some late-match wobbles against the supernova Jodar to pull through 7-6 (3), 6-4, in two hours and two minutes. A period of 20-plus minutes elapsed between Nakashima’s first match point and final one – his fifth one. In between, he fought off four break points from Jodar – holding his nerves just long enough – to win the final game, which stretched across more than 12 minutes and 18 points.
Cool under pressure 🧊
A 12-minute game to close out the match & book a first Masters 1000 final!@b_nakashima #NBO26 pic.twitter.com/AGkaQd98Vx
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 13, 2026
Nakashima struck 28 winners to offset 28 unforced errors, won 81 percent (39 of 48) of his first-serve points, saved all six break points he faced and converted one of 11 break-point chances. He outpointed Jodar 94-79.
“It was crazy, the last few games were super tight,” Nakashima said during his on-court interview. “I knew I had to keep fighting and fight off a couple of break points. Luckily, my serve hit the spots when I needed it to and super happy to get through that one.”
The loss ended Jodar’s marvelous run in Canada, which included victories over Corentin Moutet, No. 11 seed Lorenzo Musetti, No. 8 seed Jiri Lehecka and No. 18 seeds Arthur Fils, and came a week after he was a finalist at the DC Open in Washington, D.C. Against Nakashima, the young Spaniard finished with 21 winners, made 29 unforced errors and won just 68 percent (39 of 57) of his first-serve points. As he heads off to another ATP Masters 1000 event at the Cincinnati Open, Jodar has gone 8-2 on the North American hard-court swing.
Naka-SHINING 🌟
Nakashima stuns Jodar 7-6 6-4 to reach the biggest final of his career!#NBO26 pic.twitter.com/UOq1EJnuiK
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 13, 2026
In a battle of baseline sluggers, Nakashima prevailed with his fifth Top-20 victory of 2026 en route to advancing to his fifth tour-level final and first above the ATP 250 level. Nakashima’s ranking is risen to No. 2 in the PIF ATP Live Rankings, which ensures he will reach a career-high when the new ATP Rankings are released on Friday.
By winning, Nakashima ensured there will be an all-American final on Thursday, the first time in an ATP Masters 1000 event since 2003, when Andy Roddick defeated Mardy Fish to win the Cincinnati Masters title.
“It is a great feeling,” Nakashima said, commenting on the American resurgence on the ATP Tour this season. “It is a great time to be part of American tennis, so many guys doing well these days, so happy to be a part of it.”
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Shelton wins all-lefty battle over Tien
Nakashima will face World No. 10 Shelton after the American No. 2 defeated the World No. 19 Tien for the first time in three career meetings, 6-2, 6-3 in one hour and 24 minutes to reach his fourth ATP Tour final this season. He has already won titles this season, at Dallas, Munich and Stuttgart.
Shelton, 23, who is bidding to successfully defend the biggest title of his career that he won last year in Toronto, came in 0-2 against the 20-year-old Tien. However, he’s not dropped a set in Montreal while defeating Jenson Brooksby, No. 31 Zizou Bergs, No. 22 seed Joao Fonseca, No. 13 seed Jakub Mensik and Tien.
On a Ben-sational run to the Montreal final 🤩
The 2025 champ makes it 11 wins in a row in Canada as he beats Tien 6-2 6-3!@BenShelton #NBO26 pic.twitter.com/sv4XSpVPZv
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) August 13, 2026
Against Tien, Shelton hit 22 winners to 23 unforced errors, won 81 percent (35 of 43) of his first-serve points, saved all four break points he faced and converted three of five break-point opportunities. He outpointed Tien 64-44 and put away his 32nd victory of the season on his third match point.
“I’m super happy with the performance,” Shelton said during his on-court interview. “Learner is a guy who presents a lot of problems with me in my game – a tough challenge to overcome. Definitely, it’s been that way in our previous encounters. To get a win over him in the fashion that I did makes me super pleased.”
Tien advanced to the semifinals with victories over Gaël Monfils, No. 17 seed Tommy Paul, Thiago Agustin Tirante and Daniel Merida. However, he met his match in Shelton. He won just 55 percent (16 of 29) of his first-serve points, committed five double faults. Tien hit 13 winners but was undone by 30 unforced errors.
Shelton will take a 5-0 career head-to-head against Nakashima into Thursday evening’s final. Their most recent meeting was a year ago in Toronto, won in three sets by Shelton in the round of 32.
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Around IGA Stadium
In doubles, the semifinal round took place on both Centre Court and Rogers Court.
On Centre Court, in a matchup of unseeded teams, Brazilians Orlando Luz and Rafael Matos defeated singles stars Francisco Cerundolo and Tomas Martin Etcheverry of Argentina, 6-4, 7-6 (7), in one hour and 35 minutes. Luz and Matos, who faced no break points on their serve, outpointed their opponents 67-60.
Luz and Matos are 37-20 in all competitions this season with two titles won, at Buenos Aires and Santiago, on clay last February. They also won a Challenger 125 event on clay in Braunschweig, Germany last month. This tournament was the first time Cerundolo and Etcheverry (3-1) have paired this season. Last year, they went 2-4 and were 2-10 in 2024.
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At the same time on Rogers Court, No. 3 seeds Marcelo Arevalo of El Salvador and Mate Pavic of Croatia took on Theo Arribage and Albano Olivetti of France and won 6-4, 6-4 in 75 minutes. The winners saved all four break points they faced and outpointed their French duo 61-50.
Arevalo and Pavic, who are ranked seventh and eighth, respectively, improved to 35-13 and have won one title this season at Queen’s Club on grass. They’ve also been finalists at Dubai, Monte Carlo and Wimbledon. Arribage and Olivetti, who dropped to 37-17, have won titles this season at Auckland, Montpellier, Dallas, Halle and Mallorca this season.
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By the numbers
With more and more players on the ATP Tour having come up through U.S. collegiate ranks, using it as a pathway to the pro ranks, it should come as little surprise that the four players comprising the National Bank Open semifinal lineup all honed their games by playing college tennis in the United States before turning pro: Rafael Jodar and Brandon Nakashima both played at the University of Virginia, Ben Shelton at the University of Florida and Learner Tien at the University of Southern California.
“Quotable …”
“I think that I’m definitely big-match player. I love playing big matches, big stadiums, big crowds. I like playing against the best guys in the world. To be honest, I like going into a match as an underdog. Something I enjoy.
“I think that I’m learning better and better how to deal with these early rounds or, you know, dealing with a match coming in as not a favorite, but more or less a top guy with a target on your back, I think, is something that every player has to learn to deal with.”
– Defending champion Ben Shelton of the United States, during his post-match news conference Tuesday after defeating Jakub Mensik.
