The Montreal Masters has been plagued by rain, so only a handful of second-round matches will be played on Tuesday. Among them are Frances Tiafoe vs. Marin Cilic and Andrey Rublev vs. Jerry Shang.
(15) Frances Tiafoe vs. Marin Cilic
This is Tiafoe’s favorite time of year, but he already has some work to do on the North American hard-court swing after losing right away at his hometown tournament in Washington, D.C. (4-6, 6-3, 6-4 to Terence Atmane). Still, it has been a solid season for the world No. 20. He is 31-14 with a title in Halle and a runner-up performance in Acapulco.
Up first for Tiafoe at the National Bank Open on Tuesday is a third meeting with Cilic, who leads the head-to-head series 2-0. The 37-year-old Croat prevailed in two tiebreakers at the 2017 Laver Cup and 6-1, 6-3, 7-6(5) in a 2018 Davis Cup rubber. Eight years later, Cilic is past his prime and Tiafoe is playing some of the best tennis of his career. That’s not to say that Cilic doesn’t remain dangerous. The 2014 U.S. Open champion still registers at a decent 85th in the rankings and disposed of Sho Shimabukuro in straight sets on Monday night. This is almost certainly won’t be easy, but Tiafoe generally plays well in these conditions and should advance.
Pick: Tiafoe in 3
(PR) Jerry Shang vs. (10) Andrey Rublev
Rublev and Shang will be squaring off for the second time in their careers on Tuesday. Their only previous encounter came at the 2024 Hong Kong event, where Rublev prevailed 4-6, 6-2, 6-3. The 16th-ranked Russian may not be in peak form at the moment, but a return to Montreal should bring back good vibes. He finished runner-up at this tournament two years ago and also reached the quarterfinals when it was held in Toronto 12 months ago.
Shang’s comeback from foot and back problems is just beginning. The left-hander from China played for the first time since February when he lost a three-setter against Kei Nishikori in the D.C. opening round. Shang picked up his fourth match victory of the season by defeating Adolfo Daniel Vallejo 6-3, 6-3 on Sunday, so that will at least give him some semblance of confidence moving forward. Still, there is no reason to think that the 21-year-old is suddenly ready for an opponent of Rublev’s caliber.
Pick: Rublev in 2
WWW?
Shang beat Rublev narrowly in three. Did anyone see this match? Were there any worse for wear racquets or is Rublev getting the hang of chilling?
Rublev went absolutely NUTS
squandered 5 match points