Karen Khachanov suggests he wasn't that surprised by the Toronto crowd's reaction to Victoria Mboko's Montreal triumph as the Russian says stuff like this is pretty common in Canada.
In case you missed it, the clock struck at 30 minutes of play in the Toronto Masters final when the crowd started going nuts – it happened as Khachanov was preparing to serve against Ben Shelton. The Russian stood there waiting for the spectators to calm down, while his American rival looked in disbelief and had no idea what was happening. The chair umpire provided quick explanation by telling the 22-year-old that the crowd was probably celebrating Mboko's win over Naomi Osaka in the Montreal final.
Crazy scenes in the Shelton & Khachanov Toronto final.
The crowd erupts mid-match because 18 year old Victoria Mboko just beat Naomi Osaka to win the title in Montreal.
When the play continued, Khachanov managed to win a very tight opener against Shelton with a 7-6 (5) scoreline. Unfortunately for the Russian, he didn't manage to complete the job as Shelton came back from a set down to win 6-7 (5) 6-4 7-6 (3).
Khachanov comments on the viral Toronto final interruption
In his post-final presser, Khachanov was asked whether he had experienced anything like that before. And he said that something similar happened when Denis Shapovalov upset Rafael Nadal at the Canadian Open eight years ago.
"I think in Canada it's happening, but, yeah, if I remember, I think every year it happens, you know, from city to city they cheer for a local player, yeah. I remember I think in long time ago it was with Shapovalov, when he reached also like first time semifinals I think when he beat Rafa. I was playing I guess in Toronto, and then I remember something like this was happening, yeah," the 29-year-old said.
By Richard Pagliaro | Sunday, August 3, 2025 Photo credit: Tennis TV
Sounds of squealing sneakers reverberated around the Toronto court.
Alex de Minaur barely spoke a word during the decisive set today, but his Asic shoes wouldn’t shut up.
Bursting off the baseline with deep desire, de Minaur ran down drop shots to score the key break fending off Frances Tiafoe 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 to roar into his seventh quarterfinal of the season at the ATP 1000 National Bank Open.
A week after de Minaur denied three championship points to out-duel Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the Washington, DC final and capture his 10th career title, he lived up to his “Speed Demon” nickname scoring his seventh straight win.
“There’s a lot of quick movers out there. Maybe this year I haven’t had to rely on it as much because I’m focusing on trying to be a little bit more aggressive,” de Minaur said. “Course, you know, there’s still plenty of hours that have been put on in the gym, off the court, to make sure that my footwork and speed is what it is.
“I like to think that it helps in defending and retrieving, but also it helps me in taking time away from my opponents. I’m using it to my advantage to get to the net very quickly and kind of anticipate the next shot. So it’s not only for defensive use, I’m also trying to use it in an aggressive nature as well.”
It’s a historic victory for de Minaur—his 212th career hard court triumph equals two-time US Open champion Patrick Rafter for second on the Australian all-time list in the Open Era trailing only his Davis Cup captain Lleyton Hewitt, who was 372-158 lifetime on his favored hard courts.
The ninth-seeded de Minaur will face either world No. 7 Ben Shelton or 17th-ranked Wimbledon quarterfinalist Flavio Cobolli for a semifinal spot. De Minaur is 2-0 lifetime against the 23-year-old Cobolli and has yet to face Shelton in a pro match.
Bouncing on his toes behind the baseline, de Minaur exuded more energy, clarity and consistency at the start today.
Tiafoe dragged a forehand wide and scattered a slice backhand gifting the Aussie the opening-game break.
A sound de Minaur rolled through 12 of the next 15 points, bleeding forehand errors from Tiafoe for a second straight break then holding at 15 to lead 4-0 after just 16 minutes of play.
Though Tiafoe earned a couple of break points in the sixth game, he couldn’t find the court on either break point. De Minaur drew a pair of forehand return errors extending his lead to 5-1.
The ninth-seeded Aussie served out the 37-minute opener at 15.
Elevating his first serve percentage from 39 percent to 59 percent in the second set, Tiafoe played more proactive tennis in the second.
The pair combined for four consecutive breaks to start the second set.
At 4-all, 30-40, Tiafoe fought off a break point then dug in to win the longest game of the set edging ahead 5-4.
Though de Minaur went up 30-love in the ensuing game, Tiafoe would not be denied. Ripping a forehand down the line and attacking at the right time, Tiafoe earned set point. The man from Maryland rattled out a framed forehand from his opponent snatching the second set with a raised fist.
After about a seven-minute bathroom break, Tiafoe returned revitalized in tearing through 12 of the first 14 points on serve to stake a 3-2 lead.
Tiafoe held double break point for a potential 4-2 lead, but de Minaur saved the first forcing a forehand miss. On the second break point, the pair produced one of the most dazzling points of the day. A 15-shot rally saw the Aussie nudge a half volley that Tiafoe ran down and poked a pass crosscourt. De Minaur recovered a ball behind him and hit a forehand into the open court to save the second break point. An ace down the T helped de Minaur level at 3-all.
Tiafoe was snapping the slice serve down the T as he stamped his second love hold of the set for 4-3.
Deadlocked at 4-all, Tiafoe showed the good, the bad and the downright crazy of his game. The good was three aces in the game. The bad was Foe’s stubborn insistence on continuing to play the drop shot against one of the sport’s fastest players. And the crazy was even after seeing de Minaur make those running retrievals and seeing the Aussie was hovering right near the baseline, Tiafoe kept indulging his drop-shot fixation.
At one point, de Minaur careened corner to corner like an ambulance driver answering a 911 call as he hit a full-stretch forehand followed by a running backhand then read the dropper and scrambled forward to retrieve prompting Tiafoe to push a half volley into net.
“It’s kind of, it’s part of my DNA, right, never to let a point go, no matter what position in the rally I’m in,” de Minaur said. “Yeah, today was a crucial example of what it can mean if you make that extra point, right.
It was a huge moment, it gave me a break point, and even though I wasn’t able to convert it, it really did send a message that I wanted that game. Yeah, I mean, I don’t have the biggest weapons out here, but one thing I can rely on is my legs.”
You’d think after seeing the Speed Demon pull off that spectacular series of running gets, the last shot on Tiafoe’s mind would be the dropper.
Well think again.
Inexplicably, a couple of points later, Tiafoe tapped a dropper that sat up, de Minaur easily ran it down and shoveled a forehand pass breaking for 5-4.
Still, de Minaur needed a bit of luck to end it hitting a net-cord winner for 30-5. The slider serve brought the Aussie match point and de Minaur closed on another forehand error from Tiafoe, whose forehand failed him at the wrong times today.
A terrific battle that included chair umpire Mo Lahyani advising a parent in the crowd to “please give that baby some love” in response to a crying child ended with a well-earned ovation after two hours, 24 minutes. De Minaur raised his record to 37-13 on the season, he is No. 3 on the Tour for most victories in 2025.
“Tunnel vision,” de Minaur wrote on the court-side camera, summing up another gritty win for the 2025 ATP hard-court win leader.
By Richard Pagliaro | Thursday, July 31, 2025 Photo credit: Tennis TV
The Toronto net gave way to a squeeze play.
A rare shot through the net escaped the chair umpire’s attention, but not the sharp eyes of Video Assistant Review.
During Gabriel Diallo’s 6-3, 7-6(5) win over Matteo Gigante at the National Bank Open on Wednesday, one of the Canadian’s drives went through the net and undetected by the chair umpire.
Watch Gigante successfully challenge the no-call and win the point when VAR showed the ball had indeed passed through the net right below the tape. Gigante won the call but ultimately lost the match.
Alexander Zverev had a bizarre but also hilarious moment during his opening Toronto Masters match as the world No. 3 passionately celebrated what he thought was an ace on a set point.
Leading 7-6 in the first-set tie-break against Adam Walton, the German – who is seeded at No. 1 at the Canadian Open – went for a big serve down the line. The three-time Grand Slam finalist instantly started celebrating, believing that he sealed the first set. But he was quickly corrected by the chair umpire, who shouted, "fault!" The 28-year-old was left in disbelief while the chair umpire and the crowd had a good laugh.
However, Zverev remained calm and he did convert his set point at 7-6. Then, the top seed went on to complete a 7-6 (6) 6-4 win and progress into the Toronto Masters third round, where he plays against Matteo Arnaldi.
Zverev highlighted the importance of winning the first set
Before taking the tie-break, the Zverev trailed 3-5 and he was close to finding himself down by a set.
“It was a very important moment, very important point for me. Lucky to get through in the first set and finishing it off in two… Sometimes it’s about winning a match, [despite] not always playing your best. I know it wasn’t the prettiest match, for sure, but I haven’t played a match in four weeks. I took some time off, which I needed also for myself. I’m happy to be playing again. Tomorrow is another day and I hope I will be better tomorrow," the German said.
Against Arnaldi, Zverev has a 1-0 head-to-head record. However, their first meeting which came in Acapulco this year, was a very tight contest as the German had to come back from a set down to beat the Italian 6-7 (2) 6-3 6-4.
Daniil Medvedev had a very hard time accepting a Washington quarterfinal loss as the former world No. 1 hurled his racket and then also violently hit a metal water bottle against the court moments after his defeat.
With French lucky loser Corentin Moutet up 5-4 up in the third set and Medvedev serving to stay in the match, the No. 8 seed sprayed three double faults. After saving two match points, the Russian faced a third – and it was one of the most insane match points you will ever see as it pretty much featured everything and several stunning shots and escaped. Unfortunately for the 2021 US Open champion, it was the Frenchman who took the point and completed a 1-6 6-4 6-4 upset win.
It wasn't shown on the video above but Medvedev threw his racket after losing the match. Then, when he came to his chair, he further took out his frustration on a water bottle.
O jogo do 🇷🇺MEDVEDEV vs 🇫🇷MOUTET foi paralisado por conta dos raios no 4/5 do terceiro set.
Na retomada, o russo voltou sacando, fez 3 duplas faltas no game e perdeu o jogo.
— Info Tenis Brasil (@InfoTenisBrasil) July 25, 2025
Medvedev's title drought continues
Had Medvedev defeated Moutet, he would have played Alex de Minaur in the Washington semifinal and come two wins away from finally winning his first ATP title since 2023 May. When the Russian claimed the 2023 Rome Masters title, he improved to 20 titles. Since then, he hasn't lifted a title.
This year, Medvedev came close to winning a title on a few occasions – his best chance came in Halle last month, where he finished as runner-up to Alexander Bublik. The Russian former world No. 1 was also a semifinalist at the Indian Wells Masters and Montpellier.
Medvedev now turns his focus to next week's Toronto Masters, where he has a first-round bye.
