Pavić and Arevalo Reach Montreal Masters Quarterfinals
Croatian tennis player Mate Pavić and his partner Marcelo Arevalo defeated the Czech pair, winners of this year's Croatia Open, in the Round of 16 and now face a Canadian duo.
Croatian tennis player Mate Pavić and his partner Marcelo Arevalo defeated the Czech pair, winners of this year's Croatia Open, in the Round of 16 and now face a Canadian duo.
The Croatian-Salvadoran tennis combination of Mate Pavić and Marcelo Arevalo got off to a successful start at the ATP Masters 1000 tournament in Montreal. In the Round of 16 of the doubles competition, played on August 10, 2026, they defeated the Czech duo of Adam Pavlasek and Patrik Rikl 7-6 (6), 6-2.
The opponents were well known to the home crowd, as Pavlasek and Rikl recently won the title at the ATP Croatia Open in Umag. However, Pavić and Arevalo did not allow them to repeat that success and secured their place among the top eight pairs. The first set went by without a single break point, and the Czechs led 3-0 in the tie-break, later 5-2, and at 6-4 they had two set points, the second of which they served for. However, the third seeds turned things around by winning four points in a row. In the second set, Pavić and Arevalo were unstoppable – after saving three break points in the first game, they broke their opponents' serve in the fifth and seventh games, and from 1-2 they reeled off five straight games to seal the win.
In the battle for a place in the semifinals, the Croatian-Salvadoran pair faces the home duo of Duncan Chan and Alexis Galarneau. The winners of that match will earn a spot in the final, which would be another significant result for Pavić in a career rich with success in doubles. Pavić and Arevalo already have experience with the Canadian Masters: two years ago they played in the semifinals where they were stopped by Granollers and Zeballos, while last year in Toronto they finished in the quarterfinals.
The Montreal tournament has also brought several interesting developments in the singles competition. Particularly notable was 21-year-old Spaniard Daniel Merida Aguilar, the world No. 63, who dismantled Dutchman Tallon Griekspoor, ranked 69th on the ATP list, in just 69 minutes, 6-3, 6-1. This is his first career quarterfinal appearance at a Masters 1000 event. Merida is also this year's winner of the Umag Croatia Open.
Merida's opponent in the quarterfinals will be the 12th seed, American Learner Tien, who currently holds the No. 19 spot in the world. Tien reached the last eight with a 6-4, 6-4 win over Argentina's Thiago Agustin Tirante (ATP - 65) in just under two hours of play. This is the American's second time reaching this stage at a 1000-level event, having done so earlier this year in Indian Wells.
Their match is the third confirmed quarterfinal in Montreal. The last one was determined after the remaining Round of 16 matches were played. Defending champion Ben Shelton of the United States, who triumphed in Toronto last year, advanced to the quarterfinals with a 6-3, 7-6 (3) victory over 19-year-old Brazilian Joao Fonseca. Shelton now faces another young gun, 20-year-old Czech Jakub Menšik, who defeated Dutchman Botic van de Zandschulp 6-4, 7-5. In the bottom half of the draw, two pairings are already known: young Spaniard Rafael Jodar (20) will play against Frenchman Arthur Fils (18), while Italy's Luciano Darderi (19) meets American Brandon Nakashima (28).
