Alejandro Davidovich Fokina will look to keep his hot streak going when he meets Jakub Mensik in round three of the Toronto Masters on Friday. An all-American showdown features Ben Shelton and Brandon Nakashima.

(20) Alejandro Davidovich Fokina vs. (12) Jakub Mensik

A red-hot Alejandro Davidovich Fokina was a single point from his first career title last week in Washington, D.C.. The world No. 19 was emotional after his loss in the final to Alex de Minaur, but that he has already rebounded at the National Bank Open. He easily dispatched Corentin Moutet in his first match of the week.

Davidovich Fokina holds a 3-1 record over his Friday opponent, Mensik. Two of the Spaniard’s three wins came earlier this year. Mensik, from Czechia, is ranked 18th in the world and he won the Miami Masters this spring. This has the potential to be one of the better matches of the tournament so far. Davidovich Fokina is in slightly better form, but there is the possibility of fatigue from his efforts in D.C.

Cheryl pick: Davidovich Fokina in 3

Ricky pick: Mensik in 3

(25) Brandon Nakashima vs. (4) Ben Shelton

This hasn’t been a kind matchup for Nakashima. He has played his compatriot Shelton four times since the start of 2024 and has lost by a hair on every single occasion. This is another match to put on your watch list for Friday, as each of their previous meetings featured at least one tiebreaker. The problem for Nakashima is that Shelton is a better server–and Nakashima doesn’t have quite enough of a return game to pull off any wins.

Look for another tight match. Shelton, who always seems to show up at the biggest moments, knows just what to do to beat Nakashima. This is going to be a serve-fest, likely with Shelton pulling out a tiebreaker (or two).

Cheryl pick: Shelton in 2

Ricky pick: Shelton in 2