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MONTREAL — Rafael Nadal and Dominic Thiem advanced into the third round of the ATP Montreal Masters on Wednesday, with Thiem achieving a personal best in Canada.

Top-seeded holder Nadal suffered through a two-hour rain interruption before dismissing Britain’s Daniel Evans 7-6 (8/6), 6-4.

Austrian second seed Thiem, who claimed a clay title at the weekend at home in Kitzbuehel before crossing the Atlantic, won his first match in Canada after five losses, defeating home hero Denis Shapovalov 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

With weather forecasts dicey for the next few days, the Spanish top seed got a taste of the conditions he might face as the 18-time Grand Slam champion defends his Canadian title.

“Today, the main thing was win. I’ve been playing and practising more or less well. Now is the moment to compete,” Nadal said. “Today I competed enough well to be through. Tomorrow is another challenge.”

That test will be against Argentina’s Guido Pella, who beat Radu Albot 6-3, 2-6, 7-6 (7/2).

Nadal is seeking his third title of the season and now stands 38-6 in 2019. He was playing for the first time since losing a Wimbledon semi-final to Roger Federer a month ago.

Thiem was relieved to have broken his duck in Canada by finally winning a match.

“It’s a great feeling. It’s not only the first match win here, but also against a great player,” he said.

“The court is pretty fast. It was a huge transition from clay to here.

“I’m very happy with the way I served. I’m also happy that I could swing free some flat serves again.”

Thiem on Thursday faces 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic, who defeated Australian John Millman 6-3, 6-4.

Nadal said that re-starting on cement after a long post-Wimbledon pause takes some adjustment.

“This is just the first day, first matches are always tough the first time on hardcourt,” he said.

“After Wimbledon always the mind goes down a little bit. I had a long clay court season, then grass, so you don’t relax. 

“When you finish Wimbledon, your body loses a little bit that tension, so it needs little bit of time to recover.”

Nadal advanced after two hours of play but because of rain it took almost four-and-a-half hours after the first ball was struck.

Raonic, Tsitsipas out

Injury-prone Milos Raonic retired to hand 18-year-old fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime a 6-3, 3-6 win.

Raonic, a 2013 finalist here, was unable to go on after winning the second set to square the contest.

Auger-Aliassime got a walkover win against his compatriot last June on grass in Stuttgart when Raonic suffered a back injury.

The senior Canadian beat the youngster in spring, 2018 in Indian Wells in their only completed match. 

Greek star Stefanos Tsitsipas, last year’s Canada runner-up, was dumped out 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 by Poland’s Hubert Hurkacz, whom the World No. 5 had defeated in three prior matches.

Japan’s fifth seed Kei Nishikori was unable to profit from a match point, losing in 3 hours nine minutes to Frenchman Richard Gasquet.

Spain’s 10th seed Robert Bautista Agut advanced while number 12 John Isner was sent out in straight sets.

LONDON — Fuelled by the angst of narrowly failing to win their first English title since 1990, Jurgen Klopp says Liverpool’s Champions League triumph is already ancient history as they prepare to lock horns with Manchester City. 

AFP Sport looks at how Liverpool are shaping up ahead of the title race, which starts with their Premier League opener against Norwich on Friday:

What to expect

Liverpool were so relentless in their pursuit of Manchester City last season that their 97-point tally would have won them the Premier League title in every season apart from the past two.

Jurgen Klopp’s side were beaten just once in the league all season, but that loss — against City at the Etihad Stadium in January — proved costly in the final analysis, as the champions pipped Liverpool on the last day.

Liverpool were unbowed by that painful setback and just weeks later they beat Tottenham 2-0 in the Champions League final to finish their season with a flourish.

While European success has always been in Liverpool’s DNA, Klopp and his players are desperate to end their club’s title drought and that means finding a way to knock treble winners City off their perch.

The battle lines were jokingly drawn when Guardiola called Klopp to congratulate him in the immediate aftermath of the Champions League victory.

“We promised each other that we will kick each other’s butts again next season. We will go for everything and see what we get,” Klopp said.

And Sunday’s Community Shield penalty shootout defeat against City — which saw Liverpool hit back in the second half after being outplayed in the first — showed the duel for supremacy will be just as closely fought this season.

New faces

Having splashed out more than £230 million ($280 million) in the previous three transfer windows, Jurgen Klopp has opted to steer clear of any more blockbuster moves during the close season.

Sepp van den Berg, a 17-year-old Dutch defender signed from Zwolle, and Harvey Elliott, Fulham’s 16-year-old midfield prodigy, have been added as Klopp focused on keeping his current squad intact.

Liverpool have handed out new, improved contracts to several of their stars, while persuading Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah to remain committed to the Anfield cause.

“This year is not the end of Liverpool FC,” said Klopp. “Next year there will be another transfer window. This tseam is really good and we have invested a lot in it. Now we have to work with that.”

Crucially, Klopp is hoping for full seasons from England internationals Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana and Joe Gomez after the injury-plagued trio made it through pre-season intact.

Key man

Scoring the crucial penalty that put Liverpool on course for their sixth European Cup would be enough to bestow hero status on most players, but for Mohamed Salah his ice-cool strike in last season’s Champions League final against Tottenham only kept his critics at bay.

The 27-year-old Egyptian finished as the Premier League’s joint top-scorer last season, yet, still endured accusations of selfishness from some Liverpool fans who feel he puts he is too willing when a pass to a teammate would be the better option.

Battling the perception he endured a sophomore slump at Anfield, Salah sometimes looked a frustrated figure without the beaming smile that was the hallmark of his first season on Merseyside.

But his 22 goals and eight assists in the Premier League last season, coming on the back of his incredible debut year for the Reds — when he netted 44 times in all competitions — underlined his development into a genuine superstar.

BUDAPEST — Lewis Hamilton hailed Max Verstappen on Monday after a gripping duel in the Hungarian Grand Prix, which left drivers and followers of Formula One looking forward to many more battles between the two.

“There really is no better feeling from a racing driver’s point of view — when you have a race like this and face a really strong competitor and a great driver like Max,” explained Hamilton who came through to win the race.

“When I got into second, I was like ‘OK, this whole battle we’ve been talking about me having with Max, we are going to have that today’ and it was really awesome.”

There was an element of relief in the words of Hamilton who had to be at his very best to win the race.

It needed an unexpected second pit-stop — a strategic masterstroke from his Mercedes team — and a 20-lap chase before the five-time world champion finally broke the resistance of the Dutch tyro’s Red Bull as it struggled on worn tyres.

“Lewis’s driving was of a different dimension,” said Mercedes team chief Toto Wolff after the race.

“At first, it did not seem possible but as soon as Lewis sniffed the position there was no holding back. It was an unbelievable drive.” 

It marked Hamilton’s record-extending seventh win in Hungary, which was the 81st victory of his career. Michael Schumacher’s record 91 wins looms ever-closer.

More importantly for this season’s title race, it was the Briton’s eighth win out of 12 races in the first half of the season and, as the teams down tools for their summer break, puts him 62 points clear of teammate Valtteri Bottas.

The battle between Hamilton and Verstappen produced a fourth thrilling race in succession to follow a drab processional French event in June.

The Dutchman’s second place came after his first ever pole and followed victory in Germany, when Hamilton and the Mercedes team suffered an “Armageddon” weekend.

Start of an era

Hungary, though, was the race that signalled the start of an era likely to be dominated by Red Bull’s 21-year-old duel with the 34-year-old Hamilton, whose achievements and individuality have made him F1’s brightest global star.

Many observers believe already that Hamilton and Verstappen are from another planet, such was their superiority at the Hungaroring where they were more than a minute clear of the two Ferraris and lapped the rest of the field.

That has led to much “silly season” speculation that they might fit into the same team — a scenario that Red Bull’s mid-season improvement may render redundant and, ultimately, undesirable. 

“I’m really happy that after a period of time when everyone was so negative, talking about the sport, we get this big step up from the Red Bulls and now we have a really good battle on our hands, and it looks like it will stay,” said Hamilton.

“I think Ferrari will come back into play at some races like Spa and Monza and be quick on the straights — and there aren’t a lot of corners — so those places I think they will be really strong.

“But Red Bull have been doing great. It’s awesome to see and I hope their performance continues and I really, really hope we have more battles like that.”

Hamilton’s praise for his rival included recognition of the respect that exists between them despite a 13-year age gap, a welcome feature after so many acrimonious rivalries of the past.

“Max is at his best and is continuing to perform great,” said Hamilton. 

“It’s really comforting and really important to see the respect level between us. It was really respectful driving and I hope to continue that.”

Not so long ago the Dutchman was known as Mad Max — now it is a case of Maturing Max.

“If we were fighting on the same points, it may have been a lot more aggressive,” said Hamilton.

“But there was no need for that and it was really just about making sure that when you do finally pull off an overtaking manoeuvre that it is a clean, full sweep by.”

Hamilton and Verstappen will have some time to put their feet up and consider their new rivalry. The next race is at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium on September 1.

PARIS — Interminable transfer rumours surrounding Neymar continue to swirl unabated as the new Ligue 1 season kicks off this weekend with defending champions Paris Saint-Germain launching their assault for a seventh title in eight attempts.

Thomas Tuchel’s side began their campaign by lifting the Champions Trophy in Shenzhen, China, gaining a modicum of revenge with a 2-1 victory over Rennes, the team that shocked PSG in last season’s French Cup final.

As Neymar served the last of a three-match ban, incurred after a spat with a fan following April’s shootout loss, Kylian Mbappe pleaded with the Brazilian to stay during their trip to the Far East. 

“Everyone loves him and I love him so much,” Mbappe said of Neymar, the world’s most expensive player who has been linked with a return to his former club Barcelona.

“I don’t want him to leave the team, obviously. I want him to stay. When you think about his situation, and then he plays very well and he co-operates with the team you can see what he means to us.”

The Brazilian suffered another injury-plagued season, missing PSG’s embarrassing Champions League defeat by Manchester United, as well as Brazil’s triumphant Copa America campaign.

The 27-year-old has also been embroiled in widely publicised rape allegations, vehemently denied, which were eventually dismissed by Brazilian police for lack of evidence. 

Amid Neymar’s tumult Mbappe, who took the 2018 World Cup by storm, tormented Ligue 1 defences to the tune of 33 goals to emerge as the club’s true poster boy. 

Mbappe moved to quell any doubts over his own plans, having caused alarm when he spoke of playing “elsewhere” at the French league awards ceremony in May.

“I think it wasn’t the right place [to say that],” the 20-year-old said while in China. “I’d like to say sorry to the players who were there, because I spoiled the party.”

Last season’s title race quickly turned into a cakewalk for PSG, but after a domestic treble in 2017/18 under Unai Emery, his successor fell short in both domestic cups.

‘It hurts still’

Despite that disappointment the brief for Tuchel a year on remains unchanged with PSG desperately craving success in Europe, after another calamitous exit.

“It hurts a lot, it hurts still that we did not go through,” midfielder Julian Draxler told AFP, five months on.

“But from the potential in the team, we are ready to go far in the Champions League.”

While PSG have crashed out at the last-16 stage in Europe each of the past three years, it is almost unfathomable they could be dethroned in France with last season’s chief rivals losing a number of key players.

Lille sold leading scorer Nicolas Pepe to Arsenal for a reported £72 million ($87 million), while Lyon head into the new campaign without Nabil Fekir, Tanguy Ndombele and Ferland Mendy.

Fekir left his boyhood club for Real Betis, Mendy signed for Real Madid, and Ndombele became Tottenham’s record signing in a deal that could rise to 70 million euros.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Lyon have struggled in pre-season under new boss Sylvinho, the former Barcelona and Arsenal full-back.

Sporting director and club legend Juninho, who handpicked his compatriot to replace Bruno Genesio, said the start of the campaign would be a “moment of truth” after limp displays against Liverpool and Bournemouth.

The arrival of Andre Villas-Boas, who was out of football for 18 months, at Marseille makes for an intriguing prosect.

The former protégé of Jose Mourinho has pledged to do his all to restore the 1993 Champions League winners to the top after they failed to qualify for Europe last season, prompting the dismissal of Rudi Garcia.

AMMAN — Jordan plays Kuwait on Wednesday in its second match at the 9th West Asian Championship currently under way in Iraq.

The national football squad went down 1-0 to Bahrain in its opening match and need to win to keep qualifying chances alive.

Kuwait beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 and now tops Group B. Group A matches saw host Iraq beat Lebanon 1-0 and Palestine 2-1, while Palestine beat Yemen 1-0 and Lebanon beat Syria 2-1.

The event will see the top team only from each group advancing to the August 14 final match. Jordan lost 2-0 to Qatar in the final match of the 8th edition of the Championship. It was the third time for Jordan in the final, finishing runner-up three times but never winning the title.

Initiated by Jordan in 2000, and headed by HRH Prince Ali, president of the Jordan Football Association (JFA) and the West Asian Football Federation (WAFF), Jordan’s best finish at WAFF Championship was runner-up in 2002, 2008 and 2014.  Iran won the title for the fourth time in 2008. Iraq won the title once in 2002, Kuwait in 2010, Syria in 2012 and Qatar in 2014. 

The West Asian Championship comes before Jordan starts the jounrey for the 2022 World Cup qualifiers in Qatar and 2023 Asian Cup in China. Jordan will play in Group 2 alongside Australia, Taiwan, Kuwait and Nepal in the qualifiers.

The Kingdom dropped one place to 99th in the latest FIFA world rankings which came after Jordan played two friendly matches losing to Slovakia 5-1 before beating Indonesia 4-1. Once among the Asia top 10, Jordan is now 16th in the continent but still lags behind relatively uncompetitive Asian teams compared to its best FIFA ranking of 37th in 2004.  

National teams gear up

Meanwhile, the U-19 national team which concluded a training camp in Turkey, is slated to play Algeria on August 13 and 16 before it plays the West Asian Championship from Aug 23-30. The U-19 squad was drawn in Group E alongside hosts Bahrain, Bangladesh and Bhutan for their Asian qualifiers kicking off November 1. Playing in two zones, 46 teams will compete in 11 groups. The top team from each group and top four second placed teams will advance to the championship.

The U-16 team is also preparing for its Group A qualifiers for the 2020 Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Championship. Jordan got a relatively easy draw against Tajikistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Kuwait for the qualifiers to be hosted in Amman September 14-22. Playing in two zones, 47 teams will compete in 11 groups. The top team from each group and top four second placed teams will advance to the championship.

Last year, Jordan bowed out of the Round 1 of the 2018 AFC U-16 Men’s Championship. Held once every two years, the competition serves as a qualifier for the FIFA U-17 World Cup, with the top four countries qualifying.

LONDON — Pep Guardiola believes Manchester City’s Community Shield triumph against Liverpool was the perfect preparation ahead of this season’s duel for supremacy between the Premier League rivals.

Guardiola’s side drew first blood on the eve of the new campaign with a 5-4 penalty shoot-out success after a 1-1 draw in the annual curtain-raiser to the English top-flight season.

Sunday’s prestigious friendly at Wembley showed there is virtually nothing to separate the two teams after City pipped Liverpool to the Premier League crown by one point last term.

Raheem Sterling put City ahead in the first half before Joel Matip’s late equaliser forced a shoot-out that Guardiola’s men won through Gabriel Jesus’s decisive kick after Claudio Bravo saved Georginio Wijnaldum’s effort.

While City swept the board with an unprecedented domestic treble last season, Liverpool recovered by winning their sixth European Cup.

Aware of the serious threat posed by Liverpool, City’s celebrations when Jesus stroked in the winning penalty showed how much they relished the opportunity to inflict an early psychological blow on their rivals.

Jurgen Klopp’s side could easily have won in normal time but for a superb display from Bravo and Kyle Walker’s incredible overhead-kick off the line, leaving Guardiola to admit the Reds will again present the main obstacle to his club’s ambitions.

“There are two real contenders, Liverpool and us, to win the Premier League. [Manchester] United with [Harry] Maguire and the other players they bought, Arsenal, Chelsea and Tottenham can be there,” Guardiola told reporters.

“Maguire is an excellent, top-class player. We were interested but we could not afford it.

“In the beginning of the season there are five or six contenders. Then the season will talk.

“I think it will be us and Liverpool, so it is good to see the team we will compete with, the champions of Europe.

“They are a top-class team, the difference is minimal, one point last season and one penalty today.

“That’s why it’s good to play them, to say ‘guys this is the team we have to compete against. That is what we have to prepare for’.”

With a 10-month war of attrition looming as City try to defend the domestic trophies and wrestle the Champions League away from Liverpool, Guardiola was encouraged with the way his team dominated in the first half.

“The hunger is there for this part of the season. The game was tremendously demanding. We had a really good first half but after that we couldn’t control the switch of play, the long balls,” he said.

“For this part of the season that is normal. The calendar is crazy with the Copa America and the African Cup.”

Guardiola eased fears Leroy Sane suffered a serious injury when City’s Germany winger — a transfer target for Bayern Munich — limped off in the first half.

“The first impression was not good but I think it is not that. Honestly I don’t know, it is for the doctors. I will wait to see what the doctors say but I think he will be ok,” Guardiola said.

While Liverpool finished a difficult pre-season — including several defeats and the delayed return of their top stars from international duty — Klopp said his side’s dominant second half performance showed they will be a thorn in City’s side.

“I’m completely happy about it. No team plays like City. You saw in a few moments that we struggled positioning-wise when they do what they can do,” he said.

“But we changed a few things and in the second half of course it is about will, no-one felt tired any more and I like that a lot.”

Klopp has grumbled about Liverpool having to kick off the Premier League season against Norwich on Friday, while City open at West Ham on Saturday.

But he made it clear there are no excuses as Liverpool chase a first English title since 1990.

“We will try everything. The boys looked pretty hungry. We fought today. Both teams wanted to win desperately,” he said. 

“My team is not in doubt about being satisfied. They haven’t stopped working or running.”

HUNGARORING, Hungary — Lewis Hamilton regained the momentum in the world championship with a memorable strategic victory on Sunday when he overcame young rival Max Verstappen with three laps to go in a tense Hungarian Grand Prix.

The 34-year-old defending five-time world champion started third on the grid in his Mercedes and, after stalking the 21-year-old Dutch tyro for most of a fascinating tactical contest swept into the lead on lap 67 of a stirring 70-lap contest.

It was Hamilton's record seventh win in Hungary, his eighth this year and the 81st of his career, wrecking Red Bull's hopes of turning Verstappen's maiden pole position into victory, and increased his lead in the title race to 62 points before the sport's European summer break.

Verstappen, who led most of the race before his tyres faded, had no time to match Hamilton's tactics when the Briton made his second stop, came home 17.796 seconds behind in second and clocked a record race fastest lap for the Hungaroring after a late pit-stop.

Four-time champion Sebastian Vettel was third for Ferrari ahead of teammate Charles Leclerc, Carlos Sainz of McLaren and Pierre Gasly in the second Red Bull.

Kimi Raikkonen was seventh for Alfa Romeo ahead of Hamilton's Mercedes teammate Valtteri Bottas who had been forced into an early pit-stop after a first lap incident. 

British rookie Lando Norris was ninth in the second Mercedes and Alex Albon 10th for Toro Rosso.

"What a drive, what a strategy," said Hamilton's race engineer Peter Bonnington. "Only you could make that work today."

Mercedes matched Red Bull's strategy until gambling with a late additional pit-stop that left Hamilton with 20 laps to make up a 20-second deficit on fresh tyres — a move that worked as Verstappen's tyres faded away.

"They rolled the dice and it worked for them, unfortunately," Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told Verstappen. "But you drove your heart out."

 'I'm losing grip' 

A week after his forlorn error-riddled exit from last weekend's tumultuous German Grand Prix, won by Verstappen, Hamilton had bounced back in style. 

"It feels like a new win for us," he said. "I didn't know if I could do it and I am sorry I doubted our strategy — it was brilliant."

A crestfallen Verstappen admitted: "We just weren't fast enough. I tried everything I could to keep the tyres alive, but I couldn't."

Hamilton had earned a 1,000-euro fine for Mercedes for speeding in the pit lane before the start on a hotter-than-expected afternoon with an air temperature of 26ºC.

Verstappen pulled clear with some aplomb as the two Mercedes' planned pincer movement failed.

Bottas, from second, had a poor start, losing position to Hamilton who squeezed through at Turn Three. 

The luckless Finn was then clipped by Leclerc's Ferrari and damaged his front wing. This cost him critical down-force as he tumbled through the field.

This forced him to pit after six laps for a new nose and a set of hard-compound tyres. He re-joined in last place, 49 seconds adrift.

The leading duo pulled away inexorably. By lap 11, Leclerc was adrift by nearly 11 seconds and it was clear that the inter-generational battle, between the old master and his potential successor, the Dutch young pretender, was the main, if not only, event. 

Separated by two seconds, it seemed they were merely jabbing, or sparring and waiting for their moment of close engagement to arrive. Behind them, Bottas, whose future is in doubt, climbed to 14th while the Toro Rossos entertained with a wheel-to-wheel tussle.

Hamilton trimmed the lead to 1.3 seconds and then dummied to pit on lap 22, but stayed out to avoid resuming amid the Ferraris. 

"I'm losing a lot of grip," Verstappen complained in a message he repeated rather testily.

Hamilton pitted after 31 laps, stopped for four seconds and resumed second, 5.5 seconds behind.

By lap 33, he had reduced it to 2.8. Vettel, in third, was 20 seconds adrift as the Englishman smashed the gap and attacked with venom. Verstappen and Red Bull appeared caught napping.

Then, on lap 49, Hamilton pitted again, taking mediums in 2.4 seconds. He re-joined second, 21 seconds adrift, Mercedes' tactic leaving Red Bull without time to respond.

With 12 laps to go, the gap was 14 seconds as Hamilton set successive race lap records, slashing the Dutchman's lead on his way to victory.

WASHINGTON — Three-time Grand Slam champion Andy Murray moved closer to a singles return six months after right hip surgery while Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas rolled into the world’s top five on Friday at the ATP Washington Open.

Britain’s Murray and his brother Jamie, in their first doubles event since the 2016 Rio Olympics, lost to New Zealand’s Michael Venus and South African Raven Klaasen 6-7 (3/7), 7-6 (8/6), 10-7 in a quarter-final at the US Open tuneup event.

Murray has practised singles this week to improve his conditioning after the long layoff.

“I feel fine,” Murray said. “Practice has been fine. No issues phyically. So progressing well. Just keep practising the next 10 days or so and see what happens.”

Top seed Tsitsipas beat French 10th seed Benoit Paire 7-5, 6-0 to reach the semifinals and ensure he will overtake Germany’s Alexander Zverev to crack the world rankings top five on Monday.

“Once you’re in a certain position for a long time, you really crave for more,” Tsitsipas said. “I’m happy I’m in this position, where I feel like I improved a little bit.

“This one position difference might not feel a lot for some people but for me it really means a lot because there has been a lot of hard work behind it, just a lot of suffering in general.

“I appreciate the fact and I feel I deserve this position. It means a lot for sure.”

The 20-year-old Australian Open semi-finalist, who lost to Zverev in last year’s Washington semis, booked a semifinal against Australia’s Nick Kyrgios, who ousted 137th-ranked Slovakian lucky loser Norbert Gombos 6-3, 6-3.

Murray, who feared his career might be over after the January operation, hasn’t played singles since the Australian Open but says he might return at the ATP Cincinnati Masters starting August 12.

“If I feel like I’m ready, I’ll give it a go. If not, I’ll wait probably until after New York. But so far it has been fine.”

Murray, set to play doubles next week at Montreal alongside Spaniard Feliciano Lopez, doesn’t want his first singles matches back to be the best-of-five-set variety offered in Grand Slams.

He ruled out playing in Winston-Salem the week before New York, figuring he would be better off practicing for a post-US Open return.

“I’ve never competed the week before a Slam,” Murray said. “If I’m not ready five or six days beforehand, I’m assuming that I’ll probably just give it a miss.”

The 32-year-old Scotsman, a former World No. 1 now ranked 222nd, captured Grand Slam singles crowns at the 2012 US Open and at Wimbledon in 2013 and 2016.

Tsitsipas’ shoe issues

The Tsitsipas victory was marked by his third straight game with a delay to change left shoes, having said he damages the laces when he slides incorrectly.

“There’s nothing I can do about it,” he said. “The only thing is probably change my footwork, stop doing that.”

Russian third seed Daniil Medvedev advanced to the semi-finals by defeating Croatian sixth seed and 2014 US Open champion Marin Cilic 6-4, 7-6 (9/7).

Medvedev, chasing his fifth career ATP title, took the only break at the start and never faced a break point.

“I managed to do what I had to do, hold my serve and win the tie-breaker,” Medvedev said. “I’m really happy with my level of play.”

Next up for Medvedev will be 122nd-ranked German lucky loser Peter Gojowczyk, who outlasted British 13th seed Kyle Edmund 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.

Gojowczyk, who only made the event after Australian Bernard Tomic dropped out with a finger injury, added the World No. 34 to a US capital victims list that includes Canada’s 20th-ranked Milos Raonic and 25th-ranked Aussie Alex De Minaur.

In the accompanying WTA event, Taiwan’s 31st-ranked Hsieh Su-Wei, the only seed in the last eight, lost to Catherine McNally 6-4, 6-3. The American faces Italy’s Camila Giorgi in the semi-finals.

Russian qualifier Anna Kalinskaya ousted France’s Kristina Mladenovic 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 to book a semifinal date with American Jessica Pegula.