A spot in the next round is at stake on Thursday, when Ben Shelton goes up against Learner Tien in the Montreal semifinal. Ben Shelton is rolling — 4 straight wins, 7 of 10 in recent play. Learner Tien brings a 3-match winning streak into this one, 6-4 across the last ten.
Shelton's 74.5% behind the first serve (against 68% for Tien) means break chances should be scarce in one direction. Shelton comes in off a compressed schedule; Tien comes in off a compressed schedule. This one is close to a coin flip, and the lean toward Shelton is exactly that — a lean.