A COUPLE of seeds fell in an interesting day at the National Bank Open in Toronto, Canada, with six matches seeing seeded winners and just one unseeded clash played out.

Just one Russian made it through the Round of 16, and that was number one seed Daniil Medvedev who drew the only remaining qualifier in the draw in Australian James Duckworth. Medvedev sped out of the blocks to fire up in the 6-2 6-4 clash, hitting 10 aces and winning 84 per cent win of points off his first serve  to close out the match in just 68 minutes.

“When you face someone for the first time it’s a bit tougher and we’d never practised together so I didn’t know what to expect,” Medvedev said. “Sometimes you just need to find things during the match. “Even when you play someone for the 10th time, every day is different so it’s always about finding the right spot during the match.”

“He was playing good, especially in the beginning. “I managed to get a few tight games, managed to get ahead. I think he lost his rhythm a little bit so that was well my fault also. “I managed to be ahead throughout the rest of the match and then – it’s very normal, it’s the same for everybody when your back’s against the wall – I served for the match, he played much better than before. “He managed to be the closer and well played from him because it’s putting pressure on your opponent. I managed to keep this pressure out there and really happy with the win.”

But where Medvedev flourished, his compatriots in Karen Khachanov and Andrey Rublev were both unsuccessful as the former went down to third seed Stefanos Tsitsipas – on his 23rd birthday – in just one hour and 19 minutes, 6-3 6-2, and the latter – seeded fourth here – fell to American power-hitter John Isner 7-5 7-6(5). Isner fired off 20 aces to Rublev’s 10, firing on all cylinders to blow Rublev off the court in one hour and 43 minutes.

“The conditions were a bit tough on centre court. It’s been a little bit swirly,” Isner said. “I did know that Andrey was struggling with that. “He was a little bit off kilter from the very get-go, I think. I could tell he was exhibiting some frustration out there. “When I knew that he was a bit rattled early on, I just told myself I had to be the one to keep a cooler head. “I think that helped me prevail in the end.”

The only other upset of the day – albeit with just a four-rank difference – saw 10th seed Roberto Bautista Agut dispose of eighth seed Diego Schwartzman, in an intense 6-3 3-6 7-5 result. Bautista Agut overcame a second set deficit to eventually post the win, saving three match points from 3-5 in the third to eventually claim the victory in two hours and 45 minutes. While Schwartzman was more effective on his first serve, the Argentinian had less break point opportunities and was less efficient off his second serve which handed Bautista Agut errant points.

Two more three setters played out, as seventh seed Hubert Hurkacz outlasted Georgian Nikoloz Basilashvili 6-7(7) 6-4 6-4 in two hours and 38 minutes, utilising his powerful serve to double that of Basilashvili (22-11), winning a whopping 88 per cent of his first serve points off a 58 per cent clip. The unseeded result also came down to three, as Reilly Opelka and Lloyd Harris came to blows, firing off 21 aces and four double faults apiece in a close 4-6 7-6(6) 7-6(4) encounter, which saw the American claim the ascendancy off the back of a more effective first serve, making 87 of his 130 attempts count (67 per cent) compared to Harris’ efficient 66 from 103 (64 per cent).

The remaining two clashes saw the seeded competitor reign supreme, as sixth seed Casper Ruud overcame Serbian Dusan Lajovic 6-4 6-3 in 74 minutes, while 11th seed Gael Monfils cut off the American winners list with a 6-1 7-6(2) sweep of Frances Tiafoe in just under 90 minutes.

“I think it’s fun to play on hard courts,” Ruud said. “Even though I (have achieved) most of my best results on clay, my best slam result is from this year’s Australian Open (where he reached the Round of 16), so I think it’s a surface that also can suit my game well even though this year has been mainly clay.

“I think I’m motivated to come back to the hard courts. I have had two very good matches here. It’s a great start for me to the hard-court swing.”

NATIONAL BANK OPEN ROUND OF 16 RESULTS:

[1] Daniil Medvedev (RUS) defeated [Q] James Duckworth (AUS) 6-2 6-4
[3] Stefanos Tsitsipas (GRE) defeated Karen Khachanov (RUS) 6-3 6-2
John Isner (USA) defeated [4] Andrey Rublev (RUS) 7-5 7-6
[6] Casper Ruud (NOR) defeated Dusan Lajovic (SRB) 6-4 6-3
[7] Hubert Hukacz (POL) defeated Nikoloz Basilashvili (GEO) 6-7 6-4 6-4
[10] Roberto Bautista Agut (ESP) defeated [8] Diego Schwartzman (ARG) 6-3 3-6 7-5
[11] Gael Monfils (FRA) defeated [LL] Frances Tiafoe (USA) 6-1 7-6
Reilly Opelka (USA) defeated Lloyd Harris (RSA) 4-6 7-6 7-6

Picture credit: Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images