Kyrgios ousts Medvedev on a day of British success
Where do we start? First of all, top seed and tournament favourite Daniil Medvedev was dumped out by Nick Kyrgios in three sets, having won the first set via a tiebreak. Kyrgios' trademark strong serve was again in evidence, winning 82% of first serve points, and only allowing two break point chances in the entire match.
A 37/17 winners to unforced errors ratio will usually get the job done too!
There was also joy for British supporters in Canada with Cameron Norrie easing past Botic Van de Zandschulp, while Dan Evans and Jack Draper picked up statement victories. Evans ousted Andrey Rublev via a single break in each set, while the young prospect Draper continues to impress, shocking the number three seed Stefanos Tsitsipas, also in straight sets.
It will be fascinating to see how much Draper can improve his ranking throughout the rest of the season.
Kyrgios serve gives him the edge over De Minaur
Krygios' reward for defeating Medvedev is a clash with countryman Alex De Minaur, with both players likely to be well-suited to the relatively quick conditions. Kyrgios is 1.454/9 to get past his fellow Australian, which looks about right given that he's won 6% more service points on hard court this year, albeit with a smaller disadvantage on return.
This could well be a cracker though, and don't be shocked if De Minaur puts up a good fight.
In-form Norrie can double up Los Cabos victory
There are a few more competitive clashes than on previous days, with the market quite torn about favourite status in several. To start with, Felix Auger-Aliassime is a very marginal 1.875/6 favourite against the aforementioned Norrie.
The Brit is on a great run of form having reached the semi-final of Wimbledon, and the final of Los Cabos subsequently. Norrie is 10-2 in his last 12 matches.
Auger-Aliassime isn't on a hugely impressive run of form, with his last five defeats all coming as a pre-match favourite. In fact, one of those was in Los Cabos against Norrie at the start of the month, with Auger Aliassime priced up as the 1.855/6 mark but losing in three sets.
On hard court this year, Norrie has the statistical edge, winning 5% more return points, and Auger-Aliassime with a 2.5% service edge, so given the recent run of results as well, Norrie looks a bit of a false underdog here - and some pre-match value.
Draper and Monfils priced around the even money mark
One of the most difficult matches to price up features the British qualifier Draper, and the talented but inconsistent Gael Monfils who has been on the injury list for a few months prior to this tournament.
Monfils has done well to battle through several matches, with a double tiebreak win over the big-serving Maxime Cressy yesterday, and it will be fascinating to see how he fares against Draper, who looks to be on a big upward curve.
Fritz favourite to end Evans' tournament
In other matches, Hubert Hurkacz should have too much for Albert Ramos, while Taylor Fritz is a solid 1.548/15 market favourite against Dan Evans.
Fritz has really impressed me on hard courts this year and is running at around 107% combined service/return points won percentage on the surface in 2022 - very impressive numbers, around top 10 level.
This should give him the edge over Evans, making the pre-match pricing about right, although Evans did get the better of Fritz in Washington last week - creating a fascinating dynamic ahead of the clash.