Rogers Cup 2018: Sloane Stephens, Kevin Anderson Advance to Semifinals

The 2018 Rogers Cup is nearing a conclusion with the men's and women's quarterfinals taking place Friday. 

Rafael Nadal and Simona Halep—the No. 1 seeds in their respective brackets—are looking to keep their momentum going. There is guaranteed to be at least one unranked player in the semifinals on the men's side with Robin Haase and Karen Khachanov matched up against each other. 

Here's a look at what happened heading into the final weekend of action in Canada. 

Men's Singles

No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. No. 6 Marin Cilic: 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

Stefanos Tsitsipas def. No. 2 Alexander Zverev: 3-6, 7-6(11), 6-4

No. 4 Kevin Anderson def. No. 5 Grigor Dimitrov: 6-2, 6-2

Karen Khachanov def. Robin Haase: 6-3, 6-1

Women's Singles

No. 1 Simona Halep def. No. 6 Caroline Garcia: 7-5, 6-1

No. 3 Sloane Stephens def. Anastasija Sevastova: 6-2, 6-2

No. 5 Elina Svitolina def. No. 14 Elise Mertens: 7-5, 6-3

No. 15 Ashleigh Barty def. Kiki Bertens: 6-3, 6-1

Notable Results

No. 1 Rafael Nadal def. No. 6 Marin Cilic: 2-6, 6-4, 6-4

After dropping his first set of the tournament, Nadal rallied to knock off No. 6 Marin Cilic to reach the semifinals. 

Nadal has owned the rivalry between these two stars, but Cilic did earn his biggest win over the Spanish sensation in the Australian Open quarterfinals. That does come with an asterisk because Nadal suffered a leg injury that forced him to retire in the fifth set. 

Following his win on Friday, Nadal acknowledged how dominant Cilic was in the opening set. 

"The way that he played in that first set was unstoppable," Nadal told reporters. "So I resisted him. I play with the right tactics. I tried to find my solutions, but it was so difficult. The dynamic was very bad for me and unbelievable good for him. So I know that the beginning of the second set would be decisive."

This wasn't the sharpest effort by Nadal. He had as many aces as double-faults (four). Cilic got him for 17 winners during that opening set.  

Regardless of how things started, though, Nadal found his footing and remains on track to win his fifth singles title of the season. His tournament will continue on Saturday against Karen Khachanov.

No. 4 Kevin Anderson def. No. 5 Grigor Dimitrov: 6-2, 6-2

The only matchup featuring two top-five players turned into a one-sided showcase for Kevin Anderson. 

The South African star easily disposed of Grigor Dimitrov thanks to a 12-3 advantage in aces. He also had no double-faults in the win. 

Anderson also took advantage of the match by winning 57 percent of his break-point opportunities and preventing Dimitrov from winning any games defending the serve. 

This has been a one-sided rivalry in Dimitrov's favor coming into Friday's match. The 27-year-old won six of their first seven meetings, including five straight. They hadn't played since 2016, so Anderson appears to have learned a few things in the interim. 

Anderson is playing the best tennis of his life following an appearance in the Wimbledon finals with a run to the semifinals in Canada. Two more wins will give him his second win of the ATP season. 

No. 3 Sloane Stephens def. Anastasija Sevastova: 6-2, 6-2

Sloane Stephens continues to march through the Rogers Cup after earning her third consecutive straight-sets win on Friday, this time over Anastasija Sevastova. 

Despite needing just 69 minutes to reach the semifinals, Stephens didn't dominate the match. Both players had just one ace, but Sevastova did damage to herself with three double-faults. 

Stephens' performance against Sevastova comes one day after she fell behind Carla Suarez Navarro 5-1 in the second set before winning the next six games. 

"Maybe the old me would have kind of freaked out," Stephens told reporters after her comeback against Navarro. "I was kind of like, 'OK, it's fine, she's allowed to play well. Just kind of regroup.' I did that. I was happy with that."

That attitude and approach will serve Stephens well when she isn't playing her best on a given day. The 25-year-old has made significant strides over the past year, winning the 2017 U.S. Open and reaching the 2018 French Open final for the first time. 

Stefanos Tsitsipas def. No. 2 Alexander Zverev: 3-6, 7-6(11), 6-4

Stefanos Tsitsipas pulled off the biggest upset of the day by knocking off No. 2 Alexander Zverev in a three-set thriller. 

Zverev held a 6-3 advantage and had two different match points in the second set he was unable to convert. The loss snapped his streak of seven straight match wins in ATP play dating back to his win at the Citi Open. 

While Zverev will be wondering how things went south so quickly on his end, Tsitsipas is rapidly becoming a force on the men's circuit. The 19-year-old has defeated three straight opponents ranked in the top 10, including Novak Djokovic, this week. 

Per Jose Morgado of the Portugal Record, Tsitsipas' recent string of success is going to have a huge impact on his world ranking:

This was also a revenge match of sorts for Tsitsipas, who was one of the opponents Zverev defeated last week en route to that Citi Open crown. 

Even though Tsitsipas is still chasing his first career ATP singles title, he's already made a name for himself. Two more victories in Toronto will make him the toast of the entire men's circuit with the U.S. Open coming at the end of the month. 

No. 1 Simona Halep def. No. 6 Caroline Garcia: 7-5, 6-1

Halep overcame a slow start to knock off Caroline Garcia in straight sets as she looks to rebound from a disappointing showing at Wimbledon. 

Because weather problems at the start of the tournament caused all sorts of scheduling problems, Halep played her third match since Thursday. Her performance showed with no aces for the second straight match. 

Despite not lighting up the stat sheet, Halep continues finding ways to win. Her biggest advantage came when she was on the defensive, winning 47 percent of her first-serve return points. 

A third-round exit at Wimbledon has been the only major blemish on Halep's 2018 resume. The 26-year-old reached the final at the Australian Open and won the French Open. 

Halep is seeking her third tournament win of the season, tying her most since 2014. She won't have much time to recover with Ashleigh Barty waiting in the semifinals on Saturday.