The National Bank Open has reached the semifinal stage for both the men’s and women’s brackets.
The narrative: The men’s side is full of star power as all four remaining players rank inside the top 20 on the ATP Tour. Alexander Zverev plays Karen Khachanov before Taylor Fritz goes head-to-head with Ben Shelton.
Check out my top National Bank Open semifinal predictions, featuring a pick on Naomi Osaka vs. Clara Tauson.
National Bank Open predictions
Best Bet: Tauson to win (+138)
With how Tauson’s playing right now, I’m surprised to see her as the underdog in this contest.
She’s won all four of her matches in Montreal in straight sets. That includes consecutive dominant wins over top-10 players (Madison Keys, Iga Swiatek).
Osaka has been playing well too, winning four of five matches in straight sets, but she didn’t play anyone in the top 10 and two of her opponents were ranked outside of the top 200.
On top of that, Tauson has the better win rate on hard court surfaces this season (76%) and has played an hour and a half less tennis leading into the semifinal.
All of the Danish player’s stats at this event are elevated compared to her season averages. That’s worth noting considering her elite level of competition.
Key stat: Tauson has an incredible 88% hold rate at the National Bank Open, while saving 14-of-18 break points.
National Bank Open best bet: Zverev vs. Khachanov
Over 23.5 games (-103): I was tempted to take Khachanov to win as a +185 underdog, but I’d rather back a competitive game and stay away from picking a side.
That’s mostly because of both players’ ability to hold serve at the National Bank Open.
- Zverev: 44/48 service games held (92%)
- Khachanov: 42/46 service games held (91%)
Zverev is known for his powerful serve and that makes it hard for opponents to break him.
But his counterpart is playing some excellent tennis.
Khachanov is 8-1 in his last nine matches. His one loss came against Fritz, who’s arguably the most consistent player on tour right now.
He’s won eight of nine sets in Toronto, with the one loss coming on a tiebreaker. I truly believe this match will come down to who makes fewer mistakes, as there’s not much separating these two right now.
The other nice part about this line is that it can be covered in two close sets. But I expect this one to go the distance.
Best bet: Fritz vs. Shelton
Set 1 over 10.5 games (+102): This pick is based on the fact that both players have been responsible with their serve.
Shelton and Fritz have an identical 40% success rate on break points at the National Bank Open, which is decent, but break points should be hard to come by.
- Combined, the two have allowed 38 break points in eight total matches played at this event.
- Fritz has held 94% of his service games, while Shelton falls just behind with a 90% hold rate.
- The pair has been broken just eight times in 103 service games.
The idea here is that both men come out in the first set and continue to do an incredible job at holding serve.
National Bank Open predictions made at 12:06 p.m. on 08/06/2025.
Spencer is a true sports junkie. A graduate of the Sports Journalism program at Centennial College, he first joined NorthStar Gaming as an intern in 2023. He is now a contributing writer. He loves finding the edge to bet on in all sports but has a deep passion for the NBA and UFC. Previous stops include Sportsnet.