Spaniard and Frenchman to face off in the quarter-finals

Rafael Jodar continued to showcase his remarkable consistency Saturday at the National Bank Open presented by Rogers, where the Spanish teenager eased past eighth seed Jiri Lehecka 6-3, 6-3 to reach the last eight at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

With the victory, the 19-year-old advanced to his seventh quarter-final in the eight tournaments he has played since the start of April, including runs to the last eight at Roland Garros and at the Masters 1000 events in Madrid and Rome.

"Super happy with my performance today," Jodar said. "I have been playing a lot of matches, especially in the past few weeks... I am trying to go match by match, knowing that every match is difficult and I have to play very well in all the matches because everyone plays differently."

In his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with World No. 12 Lehecka, Jodar never relinquished control throughout the one-hour, 14-minute clash. The Spaniard controlled the baseline exchanges with relentless hitting and repeatedly targeted Lehecka’s backhand, forcing errors off that wing.

After clinching the first set, Jodar claimed two breaks in the second set. While consistently putting pressure on Lehecka’s serve, the Spaniard also excelled behind his own delivery. Jodar finished having won 86 per cent (24/28) of his first-serve points and saved two of the three break points he faced, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

In a standout finish, Jodar hit four stunning rows in a row to break Lehecka for a final time. After sealing another standout victory, the 19-year-old let out a roar.

"Jiri is a great player in all the facets," Jodar said. "I had to push on both my first and second serves. I think I did a great job today with my serve, happy with how I handled my service games."

Jodar is competing at a career-high No. 15 in the PIF ATP Rankings this fortnight after beginning the season outside the Top 100. The 19-year-old, who won his maiden tour-level title in Marrakech in April, is seeking his second title of the season in Montreal, where he is making his tournament debut.

Next up for Jodar will be a third meeting of the season with Arthur Fils. Fils won the pair's first meeting in Barcelona in April before Jodar gained his revenge last week in Washington en route to the title match.

In the final match of the day, Fils held off a late fightback from Cameron Norrie to defeat the 30-year-old Briton 6-2, 7-6(8) and advance to his fourth Masters 1000 quarter-final of the year.

Norrie, who had saved a match point against Alex de Minaur in the third round, threatened another comeback against Fils after fending off three match points at 5-6 in the second set and rallying from 2/5 in the tie-break before earning two set points. But the Frenchman held firm to erase both, finally sealing the win in one hour and 41 minutes.

"It was a very, very nice battle against Cam," Fils said. "He is a huge competitor. It was a good first set from me. But the second set was just back and forth. I couldn't get it [easily]. He started to raise his level and played his best at the end. But I am happy to have won in two sets."

Watch highlights from Fils vs. Norrie Montreal R4 clash: