ATP Tour

Barrios Vera saves 4 MPs, stuns Monfils in Toronto rollercoaster

Tomas Barrios Vera won’t soon forget the way that he won his first match at an ATP Masters 1000 event, and neither will Gael Monfils.

The 27-year-old Chilean saved four match points on Sunday at the National Bank Open Presented by Rogers, where he stunned Monfils 6-4, 4-6, 7-6(3) in a thrilling two-hour, 46-minute battle in Toronto. Barrios Vera, the No. 142 player in the PIF ATP Rankings, let slip a set and a break lead but, facing match points late in the third set, he produced fearless, aggressive tennis to turn the tide and triumph.

“I don’t know to be real,” Barrios Vera said when asked how he was able to prevail. “I saved many match points in the [third] set. It was super tight. I just tried to fight every point. In these conditions, it’s super hot and fast, I tried to serve very well and [win] many points on return.”

Making memories in The 6ix 📚

Qualifier Tomas Barrios Vera records his first win at Masters 1000 level as he saves four match points en route to taking down Monfils! @NBOtoronto | #NBO25 pic.twitter.com/JvxG2Swt0z

— ATP Tour (@atptour) July 27, 2025

Barrios Vera entered the main draw through qualifying before defeating Monfils for his first tour-level win since last February, snapping a nine-match losing streak since. He next faces 20-year-old American Alex Michelsen in Toronto.

At 38, Monfils was aiming to become the oldest match winner at the tournament since 1976, but he was unable to withstand Barrios Vera’s resilience down the stretch. The Chilean fended off consecutive match points with clutch baseline play at 4-5, then erased two more at 5-6 behind an unreturned serve and an ace.

“It’s super important for my confidence. Maybe I have the level to play these types of events,” Barrios Vera added with a smile.

Earlier, Learner Tien navigated a late Toronto twist to tee up a second-round meeting with home favourite Denis Shapovalov.

Despite a short lapse in concentration when attempting to serve out the match at 5-4 in the second set, the 19-year-old American demonstrated trademark poise to defeat countryman Colton Smith and prevail 6-4, 7-5 on his debut at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000. After dropping serve in that game, Tien rebounded with authority, reeling off eight of the next nine points to triumph.

“I thought I played a pretty clean match, I saved a lot of break points until 5-4 in the second,” said Tien after his one-hour, 30-minute clash. “I was cruising and I think I got a little complacent there at the end. But I was able to refocus pretty well, break the next game and serve it out.”

Tien navigates late twist in Toronto opener:

Tien’s reward for coming through his all-American opener is a maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with 22nd seed Shapovalov, who arrives fresh from his title run in Los Cabos two weeks ago. Shapovalov has fond memories of his home Masters 1000 event, memorably defeating Rafael Nadal en route to the semi-finals in Montreal as an 18-year-old in 2017.

“I’m looking forward to it. He plays well here usually, he’s done well here in the past,” Tien said of Shapovalov. “I think it will be fun, we should get a good court, if not Stadium.”

Last week in Washington, Tien shocked fifth seed Andrey Rublev to improve to a 4-1 record against Top 10 opponents this year. The Californian, who debuted at the Next Gen ATP Finals presented by PIF last December, has notched a 14-16 tour-level record this year, including two quarter-final finishes and a fourth-round run in Melbourne, where he stunned Daniil Medvedev in the second round.

Reilly Opelka recorded his first win at the Canadian ATP Masters 1000 event since reaching the biggest final of his career in 2021. The big-serving American hit 19 aces in his 7-6(6), 7-5 win over Sebastian Ofner.

Los Cabos semi-finalist Adam Walton, who is at a career-high No. 84 in the PIF ATP Rankings, maintained his form by rallying past Benjamin Bonzi 4-6, 6-0, 6-3 in his main-draw debut. The Australian set a second-round meeting with top seed Alexander Zverev.