Taylor Fritz gives his verdict on how the crowd behaved during his win over a Canadian player in Toronto

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Taylor Fritz is in with a good chance of adding a second Masters 1000 title to his trophy cabinet in Toronto.

The 2022 Indian Wells champion travelled to Toronto as the number two seed, following the withdrawals of Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz.

Beginning the tournament as one of the big favorites for the title, Fritz took down Spain’s Roberto Carballes Baena in his opener, booking his place in round three.

There, Fritz defeated home-favorite Gabriel Diallo 6-4, 6-2, sending the last-remaining Canadian out of the tournament.

During his post-match press conference, Fritz gave his verdict on how the Canadian Open fans behaved throughout the third-round tie.

Taylor Fritz says the Canadian fans were ‘nice’ to him and admits he’s dealt with ‘a lot worse’

The world number four was asked whether he prepares differently for matches, knowing his opponent will receive the majority of the crowd support.

“Mentally, I’m ready for it. I’m not going out there thinking that the crowd is going to be supporting me or anything like that,” said Fritz.

“I know they are going to be crazy for him.”

Fritz proceeded to admit the crowd was ‘nicer’ to him than he had expected them to be.

“To be honest, I thought the crowd was very mild for me playing… mild is not the right word, just nice to me playing the last player in the tournament from Canada,” he said.

“I thought it was going to be a little bit more hostile, but I guess everyone is just so nice. I’ve dealt with a lot worse, so I’m always prepared for the worst.”

Diallo was the last Canadian to fall in the 2025 Canadian Open, as no player from the nation advanced to the fourth round.

Fritz has now beaten Diallo in two of his previous three tournaments, as the 27-year-old was asked to comment on the Canadian youngster’s qualities after the match.

“I mean, the obvious thing is his serve is very tough to return,” he said.

“But the things I can pick out, especially from Wimbledon that I thought he did very well, he returns second serves really well, especially off his backhand, he can take it early and really press you if you’re missing your first serve, and then from the baseline he’s good too, he can attack with his forehand, his backhand is very solid, flat through the court, goes line with it well. 

“He doesn’t let you play a lot of defense, because he’ll come in and cut it off at the net. He does a lot of things really well.”

At Wimbledon, Fritz beat Diallo en route to the semifinals, before picking up his second career victory over the Canadian in Toronto.

Fritz will now prepare to take on Jiri Lehecka in round four, as he continues his charge towards a second Masters 1000 title.

How many active players have won multiple Masters 1000 titles?

The 27-year-old is currently one of 13 active players on the ATP Tour to have won a singular Masters 1000 title.

• Casper Ruud – 2025 Madrid Open
• Jakub Mensik – 2025 Miami Open
• Jack Draper – 2025 Indian Wells
• Alexei Popyrin – 2024 Canadian Open
• Holger Rune – 2022 Paris Masters
• Borna Coric – 2022 Cincinnati Open
• Pablo Carreno Busta – 2022 Canadian Open
• Taylor Fritz – 2022 Indian Wells
• Cameron Norrie – 2021 Indian Wells
• Karen Khachanov – 2018 Paris Masters
• Grigor Dimitrov – 2017 Cincinnati Open
• Marin Cilic – 2016 Cincinnati Open
• Stan Wawrinka – 2014 Monte-Carlo Masters

He’ll be hoping to move his name onto the more prestigious list of players with multiple titles at the Masters 1000 level with a win in Canada.

There’s a long way to go before Fritz joins Andrey Rublev and Hubert Hurkacz on two titles, however, as he faces a tough test in his next match against Lehecka.

Fritz will take on Lehecka for a place in the Canadian Open quarterfinals on Sunday, August 3.