American tennis fans will witness something special in Toronto this evening when Taylor Fritz takes on Ben Shelton with a place in a Masters 1000 final up for grabs.
Fritz roared into another semifinal by beating Andrey Rublev, with Shelton coming through against Alex de Minaur.
Fritz has complained about the balls at this event, although he keeps finding a way to come through against top players at the tournament.
Wimbledon semifinalist, Fritz, has called on tennis to make a change this week, too, and it does appear that he’s becoming a bit of a spokesperson on the ATP Tour.
Tonight, when he plays Shelton, fans will watch on with pride as the two players do something that hasn’t happened since 2010.
Photo by Mathew Tsang/Icon Sportswire via Getty ImagesFritz vs Shelton will be the first Masters 1000 semifinal between two Americans in 15 years
You have to go all the way back to 2010 to find a semifinal at a Masters 1000 event that features two Americans squaring off against each other.
Fritz and Shelton are both considered poster boys for the modern game in America and now they will do battle in a game that could throw up fireworks.
Fritz has a decent record in Masters 1000 events and he will want to add another title to his collection at the tournament this week.
With the US Open just around the corner, taking confidence is going to be huge for both players and it will be fascinating to see who prevails.
What happened when Mardy Fish played Andy Roddick in Cincinnati
When Fish and Roddick locked horns 15 years ago, it was hard to imagine that it’d be so long until two American players played each other at a Masters 1000 event.
The two players were at the end of their careers at the time, and it was Fish who emerged victorious on this occasion.
It would be the final time that the two players would play competitive tennis against each other on the tour and gave Fish a third win from 12 matches against Roddick.
After a classic three-set battle, Fish would play Roger Federer in the final and was beaten in three sets, despite landing the first blow to win a tie-breaker.