Jodar and Rybakina advance to Canadian Open semi-finals

Spanish teenager Rafael Jodar has advanced to the semi-finals of the Canadian Open after defeating Arthur Filis in a rain-affected quarter-final contest. The 19-year-old won 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 on Tuesday, a result that guarantees he will rise to at least 11th in the ATP rankings, having begun the year at 165th.

Jodar’s rapid ascent places him on track to potentially break the record for the fastest rise into the men’s tennis top 10. He currently holds the position to surpass Boris Becker’s previous record of 210 days, which would see him achieve the feat in just 140 days. However, this historical milestone is contingent upon him winning the tournament and defending champion Ben Shelton losing his semi-final against Learner Tien.

Shelton, a two-time Grand Slam semi-finalist, remains undefeated in the tournament having swept Jakub Mensik 6-3 6-1 in straight sets. Should Jodar and Shelton meet in the final, a victory for the Spanish player would also secure a top-10 ranking. Jodar will face American Brandon Nakashima in the semi-finals on Wednesday night.

In the women’s draw, Elena Rybakina secured her place in the semi-finals by defeating Naomi Osaka 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. The Kazakh player overcame an early deficit, with Osaka breaking in the opening game to take the first set. Rybakina rallied to win the second set on a tie-break and claimed the decisive break in the seventh game of the third set.

Rybakina will face Coco Gauff in the next round after the American received a walkover when Belinda Bencic withdrew due to a hip injury. The other women’s semi-final will see Iga Swiatek play Elina Svitolina. Rybakina’s performance keeps her in contention to overtake Aryna Sabalenka as world number one later in the month.

The semi-finals for both the ATP and WTA tournaments are scheduled for Wednesday night from 11pm and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports Tennis.