Rublev beats top-seeded defending champion Sinner to reach Montreal semifinals

MONTREAL (AP) — Fifth-seeded Andrey Rublev outlasted top-seeded defending champion Jannik Sinner 6-3, 1-6, 6-2 on Saturday night to reach the semifinals in the rain-delayed National Bank Open.

Rublev beat Brandon Nakashima 6-2, 6-2 earlier Saturday, while Sinner also was playing his second match of the day after topping beat Alejandro Tabilo 6-4, 6-3 in the afternoon.

Rain washed out play Thursday night and all of Friday as remnants of Tropical Storm Debby rolled through, putting the event set to end Monday behind schedule.

Sinner missed the Olympics because of tonsillitis after a quarterfinal loss at Wimbledon. In January, the Italian star won the Australian Open final for his first Grand Slam title.

In the late match, Kei Nishikori faced Matteo Arnaldi for a semifinal spot opposite Rublev, the 26-year-old Russian with victories this year in Madrid and Hong Kong.

The other two quarterfinals were pushed back to Sunday. Second-seeded Alexander Zverev was set to face Sebastian Korda, the winner last week in Washington, while fourth-seeded Hubert Hurkacz was scheduled to play Alexei Popyrin.

Zverev beat 13th-seeded Holger Rune 6-3, 7-6 (5).

Korda topped ninth-seeded Taylor Fritz 6-4, 7-6 (4) in a second-round match that was originally scheduled for Thursday night, then moved on after sixth-seeded Casper Ruud withdrew because of illness.

Popyrin beat seventh-seeded Grigor Dimitrov 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-3. Hurkacz beat Thanasi Kokkinakis 4-6, 6-3, 7-6 (6) in the second round, then topped Arthur Rinderknech 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.