Tennis News: Hubert Hurkacz ends Nick Kyrgios' winning streak in Montreal

The pole matched the rhythm of the fast-paced Kyrgios and pulled through after one hour and 46 minutes to improve to 31-13 on the season. Kyrgios had won 15 of his past 16 matches, which made for an intimidating record. 

His only defeat came against Novak Djokovic in the Wimbledon final. After two high-energy sets, the Australian couldn't keep up, and eighth seed Hurkacz reigned over an exhausted and somewhat injured Kyrgios. 

Hurkacz leads Kyrgios 2-0 in their ATP Head2Head series and has raised his record to 28-1. The 25-year-old will continue chasing his second ATP Masters 1000 crown against fourth seed Casper Ruud in the semi-final. 

The Pole shot a backhand winner and pocketed the first set in the tie-break before Kyrgios resurfaced to take the second set. He equalised the score by hitting his seventh ace of the set.

By the third set, the Australian seemed tired on the hard court in Montreal. Hurkacz was soon to break at the start of the decider and maintained a solid serve. 

In the current season, Hurkacz won his fourth tour-level title in Halle and is ninth in the Pepperstone ATP Race To Turin, ready to appear for the second time at the Nitto ATP Finals.

Ruud reaches the Montreal semi-finals.

Casper Ruud set up his third ATP Masters 1000 semi-final of the season after defeating an already bemused Felix Auger-Aliassime to advance 6-1, 6-2 in Montreal.

The 23-year-old made nine unforced errors compared to Auger-Aliassime's 25, as his game betrayed his nervousness in his first Masters 1000 quarter-final at the National Bank Open. 

The 74-minute victory has earned Ruud a 2-1 lead in their ATP Head2Head series. The Norwegian is a holder of three tour-level titles this year. At the same time, sixth seed Auger-Aliassime was the first Canadian to enter the quarter-finals at the hard-court event since Denis Shapovalov in 2017. 

The Norwegian was fined for a bizarre reason

Meanwhile, the semi-finals landed himself in a bizarre situation during his 6-7 7-6 6-4 win over Roberto Bautista Agut. At the end of the first set, Ruud lost in a tie-breaker and decided to take a bathroom break.

Instead of using the amenities, the Norwegian went for a change of clothes prompting umpire Fergus Murphy to inform the player about his apparent violation of the rules. 

Ruud tried to understand the umpire's instructions but failed. Moreover, code violations usually come with fines, so his unsportsmanlike conduct violation "shall subject a player to a fine up to $20,000 for each violation." 

Although he will be exempted from paying the total amount, it was a strange incident to witness for both commentators and fans alike. Some pointed out that it is a 10-minute break where players can enjoy "a maximum of three minutes once they have entered the toilet" along with "two minutes for a change of attire in addition to the three-minute toilet break".

The court was positioned far off from the locker room in Ruud's defence.