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“I feel the depth of the WTA Tour is pretty strong … anybody can win on any day. It’s difficult; it makes matches very difficult. And yeah, the No 1 ranking is up for grabs.”

So said world No 4 Coco Gauff in a Toronto press conference after beating Russian teenage qualifier Alina Korneeva. The American added that because of her own big breakthrough at Wimbledon 2019, aged 15, she knows not to take younger players’ age for granted in terms of dismissing them.

Gauff might just as well have been sitting in Montreal commenting on the ATP Masters 1000, simultaneously unfurling, where a clutch of Next Gen rising stars, with top tenner Ben Shelton, have toppled most of the remaining top seeds to reach the last eight.

Beyond that, it will be the first time three Americans — Brandon Nakashima, Learner Tien and Shelton — have reached the semifinals in Canada since 1992, when Ivan Lendl, Malivai Washington and Andre Agassi set the bar.

Spain too has rarely been out of any ATP finals equation and in the absence of their No 1, Carlos Alcaraz, 19-year-old phenomenon Rafael Jodar has leapfrogged into the limelight with a rankings surge to No 11, in his first-ever Masters 1000 semi, together with Tien.

Tien had the tougher penultimate Montreal match, facing off against defending champion Shelton. The fact Tien had felled Shelton in both their previous showdowns — Mallorca last year and at Indian Wells this year — did not pay dividends.

Again pointing to Gauff’s astute observation, Tour teenagers are doing major damage by prematurely unseating higher and older seeds

Shelton exacted revenge 6-2 6-3 to send Tien packing and to book another finals berth in Montreal, having already signalled his intent by making short shrift of 19-year-olds Jakub Mensik and Joao Fonseca prior to that.

On paper, Jodar had the easier task of confronting Nakashima, also up six spots to No 25, his highest ranking, under the wing of former South African No 1 and new coach Wayne Ferreira, renowned for encouraging his respective charges to advance to the net.

Yet Jodar too was brought to heel by the 25-year-old in straight sets 7- 6(3) 6-4, thus it will be two Americans squaring up for the coveted Montreal trophy, with Nakashima, the underdog, in his first Masters 1000 final.

Lest we forget, Tien had already eliminated American Tommy Paul and others — Argentinian Thiago Tirante and Spaniard Daniel Merida — as had Jodar dismantled Lorenzo Musetti, Jiri Lehecka and Arthur Fils en route to the semis.

Again pointing to Gauff’s astute observation, Tour teenagers are doing major damage by prematurely unseating higher and older seeds.

That said, world No 2 and Australian champion Elena Rybakina, after suffering a slump since an early Wimbledon exit, has finally pulled herself together and rallied from a set and a break down in Toronto to overcome Naomi Osaka and propel herself into a semis clash against none other than Gauff.

The Kazakh had axed the American in the Australian Open semis and repeated the feat to grab her Toronto finals berth.

Iga Swiatek, another former No 1, whose ranking and mindset have unravelled of late, mustered some mental might of her own to claw her way into the Canadian final.

World No 3 Carlos Alcaraz will be champing at the bit to rejoin the US Open action — a fertile hunting ground for him — to rein in his junior compatriot before Jodar breaks into the top 10

And while that reaches its climax, focus is already shifting to the Cincinnati Masters 1000, where big points are on offer, before the US Open.

Novak Djokovic returns to the fray, having been absent since Wimbledon, where he was beaten in the semis by Jannik Sinner. Fortunately for the Serb, Sinner has withdrawn from Cincinnati, citing a knee problem. However, Djokovic finds himself in the top half of the draw, riddled with dangerous young guns.

If play proceeds according to seedings, he will face Argentinian Thiago Tirante, the man who dumped Washington champion Taylor Fritz out of Montreal in round 1.

Should Djokovic survive that encounter, he will next face either British No 1 Jack Draper, still smarting from his equally humiliating round 1 exit in Canada and with much to prove to make up for that points deficit, or possibly French Open semifinalist Mateo Arnaldi.

And if the Serb prevails to the quarters, feisty world No 7 Alex de Minaur lies in wait. Thus, it is extremely unlikely the three-time Cincinnati champion will pick up his 4th title here, let alone his 25th Major at the US Open.

Meanwhile, Cincinnati’s second seed Felix Auger-Aliassime, post his disappointing withdrawal from Montreal on account of a resurgent back injury, will open in Ohio against 2022 finalist Stefanos Tsitsipas.

They haven’t competed since the 2025 Dubai final, which the Greek won in straight sets. Fritz, again carrying the star-spangled banner for the home nation, is in the top-heavy third quarter of the draw where 4th, 11th & 13th seeds Daniel Medvedev, Casper Ruud and Andrey Rublev, not to mention Brazilian teenage star Joao Fonseca, all lurk.

And on the subject of underestimating youngsters at your peril, world No 3 Carlos Alcaraz will be champing at the bit to rejoin the US Open action — a fertile hunting ground for him — to rein in his junior compatriot before Jodar breaks into the top 10.