Ben Shelton of the United States celebrates his win over Zizou Bergs of Belgium during third round tennis action at the National Bank Open in Montreal on Friday, Aug. 7, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi

By The Canadian Press

Defending champion Ben Shelton downs Zizou Bergs to advance in NBO Open men’s tennis

Aug 7, 2026 | 1:02 PM

MONTREAL — Ben Shelton’s National Bank Open title defence remained on track Friday.

The fifth-seeded American cruised past Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 6-3, 6-2 in just over an hour on IGA Stadium’s Centre Court to reach the fourth round of the Masters 1000 tennis tournament.

Shelton, who won his maiden Masters 1000 title in Toronto last year, fired eight aces and had yet to drop a set through his opening two matches.

The world No. 10 was the highest-ranked player remaining in the draw. Just a dozen of the tournament’s 32 seeds remained, including only three of the top 10.

Shelton also reached the fourth round of a Masters 1000 event for the first time in 2026 after failing to string together consecutive wins at any of the ATP’s signature tournaments.

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Both players held serve through the first five games Friday before Shelton broke in the sixth to take a 4-2 lead. He held serve the rest of the way to close out the opening set 6-3.

The American broke again in the fifth game of the second set, aided by an ill-timed double fault and the third of the match from Bergs.

Shelton then broke Bergs for a second time in the set to move within a game of victory before serving out the match.

The 23-year-old Shelton meets either ninth-seeded Norwegian Casper Ruud or 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca in Sunday’s fourth round.

Ruud and Fonseca were scheduled to meet Friday evening on Centre Court.

Earlier Friday, Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor upset No. 30 seed and 2024 National Bank Open semifinalist Matteo Arnaldi 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Griekspoor, who stunned top seed Alexander Zverev in the second round, reached the Round of 16 at a Masters 1000 event for the fifth time in his career and first time this season.

His next opponent is 21-year-old Spaniard Daniel Merida, who defeated American Alex Michelsen 6-4, 6-7 (4), 6-1 on Rogers Court.

Merida has won nine of his last 10 matches since Wimbledon and reached the fourth round of a Masters 1000 tournament for the first time. The victory also propelled him into the ATP’s top 50 for the first time in his career.

Friday evening’s session was also to feature No. 13 seed Jakub Mensik of Czechia against Frenchman Terence Atmane, and an all-American matchup of Learner Tien versus Tommy Paul.

Australia’s Alexei Popyrin, the 2024 NBO Open champion, was also scheduled to face Argentina’s Thiago Agustin Tirante on Friday.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 7, 2026.

Jordan Stoopler, The Canadian Press

by The Canadian Press