Brandon Nakashima had never reached an ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal before this week.
Now he’s playing for the title.
The 28th-seeded American advanced to the National Bank Open men’s singles final Wednesday, rolling to a 7-6 (3), 6-4 victory over rising star and crowd favourite Rafael Jodar in the semifinals.
“Going into the tournament, I knew I was playing at a really high level, so I knew that I could get a go on a deep run here,” Nakashima said. “Obviously wasn’t thinking about the final or anything.
“I’m super happy right now. Everything that I’ve done to get to this moment, all the hard work and everything, just so happy that it’s all paying off, and can’t wait for tomorrow.”
Nakashima will face defending champion Ben Shelton in an all-American final on Thursday.
The fifth-seeded Shelton needed only 84 minutes to breeze past fellow American Learner Tien, 6-2, 6-3 on Wednesday.
Nakashima dictated rallies throughout his match, particularly on serve. The 25-year-old won 68 per cent of his first-service points while putting 85 per cent of his first serves in play on centre court at IGA Stadium.
The 19-year-old Jodar, seeded 20th, landed 59 per cent of his first serves and won just 51 per cent of his second-serve points against Nakashima’s aggressive returns, losing the match in two hours two minutes.
The fiery Spaniard showed his frustration at times, smacking his racket against his head and yelling after errors.
“My serve and forehand were definitely the keys for today,” Nakashima said. “I knew that I had to hit my forehand with a lot of pace, try to get him on the run because if he was doing that to me, I wouldn’t be in a good position.
“I knew I had to be aggressive, try and come forward as much as possible, and luckily I was able to hit my serves when I needed to.”
The loss ends a stellar run for Jodar, who was trying to become the youngest Canadian Open finalist since countryman Rafael Nadal in 2005.
Jodar also reached the D.C. Open final last week and has rapidly climbed the ATP rankings in his first season on tour, posting a 30-13 record. He was No. 11 in the ATP’s live rankings entering Wednesday’s match after cracking the top 100 on March 30.
“He’s the next up-and-coming player, so of course there’s a lot of excitement around him,” Nakashima said. “Everybody knows the talent he has, the level that he can produce.
“It’s been a rise like we’ve never seen before.”
The match ended with a wild, 10-minute game of long rallies and momentum swings while Nakashima served for the win at 5-4 in the second set.
Jodar fought to stay alive as the crowd erupted into “Let’s go Ra-fa-el!” chants, forcing four break points, but Nakashima fended off each one. Meanwhile, the Spaniard saved four total match points, including two in that game, before failing to return Nakashima’s serve on the fifth.
The first set went the distance, even though Nakashima lost only four points on serve while forcing six break-point chances — all successfully defended by Jodar. Nakashima ultimately took a 6-3 lead in the tiebreak, taking the set after Jodar sailed a lob long.
Shelton, 23, then made quick work of the 20-year-old Lien, claiming the first set in 36 minutes.
The world No. 10 was clinical on serve, striking five aces and saving all four break points he faced to earn a chance to defend his title.
Swiatek tops Svitolina to reach women’s final
Iga Swiatek raised her game at the right time Wednesday night to secure her first appearance in a WTA Tour final in almost a year.
The six-time Grand Slam champion from Poland broke Elina Svitolina’s serve at love for a 5-3 lead in the deciding set. She then jumped out to a 40-0 lead before converting her second match point.
Swiatek, the No. 7 seed, needed two hours 17 minutes to complete the 6-3, 1-6, 6-3 victory. The start of the match was delayed about an hour due to wet weather.
The former world No. 1 will play the winner of the late semifinal between fourth-seeded American Coco Gauff and second-seeded Elena Rybakina of Kazakhstan.
The final was scheduled for Thursday night.
The ninth-seeded Svitolina struggled at the start of the match, dropping the first four games and looking exasperated as the errors continued. Swiatek was working her from corner to corner and using strong net play to her advantage.
Things flipped in the second set as the Ukrainian finally won some service breaks. Her range and power from the baseline helped provide some needed momentum as Swiatek searched for answers.
The players seemed destined for a third-set tiebreaker as they went back and forth with powerful ground strokes. Svitolina blinked first in the decider as she double-faulted on triple-break point and Swiatek took advantage.
Swiatek, who has won five of their eight career meetings, will appear in her first WTA 1000 final since winning at Cincinnati last summer.
Her last WTA Tour final was in Seoul last September, when she picked up her 25th career WTA title.
All four semifinalists this year are ranked in the top 10.
The last time that happened at the National Bank Open was in 2000 when top-ranked Martina Hingis beat seventh-ranked Serena Williams for the crown. The other semifinalists that year were sixth-ranked Conchita Martinez and ninth-ranked Arantxa Sanchez-Vicario.
Canada’s Victoria Mboko won this tournament last year in Montreal. She was unable to defend her title due to a knee injury.
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