Third-round competition at the Montreal Masters heats up on Friday with a showdown between Casper Ruud and Joao Fonseca. The winner will go up against either defending champion Ben Shelton or Zizou Bergs.
(9) Casper Ruud vs. (22) Joao Fonseca
Ruud and Fonseca will be going head-to-head for the second time in their careers and for the second time this season when they clash in round three of the National Bank Open on Friday. They previously squared off this spring at Roland Garros, where Fonseca triumphed 7-5, 7-6(8), 5-7, 6-2 to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal.
The 19-year-old has not done much since that result, but he looked good during a 7-6(3), 7-5 victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Ruud as usual skipped the grass-court swing for all intents and purposes (only played Wimbledon and lost right away to Hubert Hurkacz) and then lost in the Gstaad quarterfinals. The Norwegian opened in Montreal with a 6-1, 6-2 rout of Juan Manuel Cerundolo (to whom he fell in Gstaad), but it hardly suggests that Ruud’s hard-court form is where it needs to be for the U.S. Open. If Fonseca can take down the world No. 14 on clay, the Brazilian should feel very good about his chances on a hard court.
Pick: Fonseca in 3
(31) Zizou Bergs vs. (5) Ben Shelton
Shelton is the defending champion of this event — even if it was held in Toronto 12 months ago. It may be a different venue in Montreal this time around, but any tournament this time of year is favorable for Shelton. This is the 10th-ranked American’s favorite stretch of tennis, culminating at the U.S. Open later this month. Shelton advanced to the Washington, D.C. quarterfinals last week and then got this fortnight started with a 6-3, 7-5 defeat of Jenson Brooksby.
Up next for the No. 5 seed on Friday is a second meeting with Bergs. They previously faced each other two years ago on the red clay of Houston, where Shelton prevailed 3-6, 6-4, 6-3. Bergs set up this rematch by beating Sebastian Baez 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 in his opening match, improving to 17-16 for the 2026 campaign. The 34th-ranked Belgian had been 3-7 in his previous 10 hard-court matches, so that was a much-needed result. On this particular surface especially, though, Shelton represents a massive step up in competition from Baez — and will probably send Bergs packing without too much trouble.
Pick: Shelton in 2
