Ben Shelton beats Taylor Fritz in an all-American semifinal in Toronto

TORONTO (AP) – Fourth-seeded Ben Shelton beat second-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 6-3 in an all-American semifinal match Wednesday night in the National Bank Open Open.

Shelton will face 11th-seeded Karen Khachanov of Russia, a 6-3, 4-6, 7-6 (4) winner over top-seeded Alexander Zverev of Germany in the first semifinal in Masters 1000 hard-court event.

The 22-year-old Shelton is seeking his third career ATP Tour title. He won in Tokyo on hard courts in 2023 and Houston last year on clay.

The 26-year-old Fritz has 10 career victories, winning this year on grass at Stuttgart and Eastbourne.

Khachanov, a seven-time tour winner, survived a match point.

“Today was a real close one,” Khachanov said “I was match-point down. If the ball touches the net and drops over we wouldn’t be talking now.”

Zverev, the 2017 champion with 24 tour titles, is No. 3 in the world.

“The first set was terrible,” Zverev said. “I kind of gave him a headstart and he’s too good to not use that.”

Zverev was the top seed with top-ranked Jannik Sinner – the 2023 winner – and No. 2 Carlos Alcaraz skipping the expanded event.