Spaniard will next face Fils or Norrie

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 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.

"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."

With the victory, Jodar improved to 4-6 against Top 20 opponents this season. The Spaniard defeated No. 8 Alex de Minaur in Madrid and No. 15 Lorenzo Musetti in Washington, before he defeated No. 13 Musetti again in the third round in Montreal.

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. The Spaniard currently sits No. 11 in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin as he bids to make his Nitto ATP Finals debut.

The next test for Jodar in Montreal will be a quarter-final meeting with Arthur Fils or Cameron Norrie.