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De Minaur has fond memories at the ATP Masters 1000 event, having reached the title match in 2023. For an hour, it seemed as if the Australian would make easy work of Tiafoe and advance to the quarter-finals in Canada once again.

However, from a set and a break down, Tiafoe began to land more blows on the forehand to gain a foothold, levelling up on his first set point. With little to separate the two, it was De Minaur who played the more proactive tennis in the big moments.

The 26 year-old saved two break points at 3-3 and then gained the crucial break in the ninth game, winning one of the points of the match at 4-4, 40/40, before serving out to triumph after two hours and 24 minutes.

De Minaur has now earned 37 wins in 2025. The Aussie recorded a career-best 47 wins in 2024 and 2022 and 46 victories in 2023.

"It was never going to be easy and Frances has the ability to turn the switch on whenever he wants, so it is always very tricky to put him away," De Minaur said. "I think I battled him, myself and the conditions and I am happy to sneak away with a win today."

De Minaur is up two spots to sixth in the ATP Live Race To Turin after improving to 3-1 head-to-head against Tiafoe. The 26 year-old is aiming to make his second appearance at the ATP finals.

De Minaur has now won his past seven matches after winning the title at the ATP 500 event in Washington last week. Seeking his maiden ATP Masters 1000 crown, the wold number-8 player will next meet Ben Shelton or Flavio Cobolli.

Tiafoe was seeking his first Top 10 win of the season. The seventh seed won three setters against Yosuke Watanuki and Aleksandar Vukic but was unable to prevail in three against De Minaur.

In the second match of the day, Andrey Rublev was just two points from defeat against Alejandro Davidovich Fokina, but rallied to win the second set before the Spaniard was forced to retire in the decider when Rublev was leading 6-7(3), 7-6(2), 3-0.

Davidovich Fokina held three championship points against De Minaur in the Washington final last week but was unable to convert and win his maiden tour-level title. The 26-year-old had seemingly put that disappointment behind him in Toronto, where he had dispatched Corentin Moutet and Jakub Mensik in straight sets to reach the fourth round.

However, from 7-6(3), 5-4, 30/0 up on the Rublev serve, the 20th seed quickly faded. Playing at a career-high No. 19, Davidovich Fokina struggled to move during the opening stages of the third set, calling time on the clash after two hours and 21 minutes.

"I feel super great to be back in the quarter-finals," Rublev said. "Of course it is not the way I wanted to finish the match but in the end we played nearly two and a half hours, which is also kind of a lot. It is more than most of the matches. I feel enough tennis for the day and I just want to recover and take as much rest as I can."

Rublev will next meet Taylor Fritz or Jiri Lehecka in his 14th Masters 1000 quarter-final and first since Cincinnati last August. The 27 year-old is up four spots to 12th in the ATP Live Race To Turin and could climb to as high as sixth with his third Masters 1000 crown.