Shapovalov rides strong service game to Swiss Indoors quarterfinals
The Canadian Press | Posted: October 24, 2024 6:36 PM | Last Updated: October 25
Canadians Fernandez, Andreescu bounced from Pan Pacific Open quarterfinals
Canada's Denis Shapovalov advanced to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday, while two-time defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime was eliminated..
Shapovalov used a strong service game to overcome the Spanish veteran for the win at the ATP 500 event in just under one hour 40 minutes. The 25-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., fired 18 aces, including one to set up match point in the second-set tiebreaker, and won 79 per cent of first-serves and 63 per cent of second-serve points.
Shapovalov, a former top-10 player on the ATP Tour, entered this year's Swiss Indoors ranked 95th and will appear in just his second quarterfinal of the season.
He improved to 3-0 against Bautista Agut, who he beat in July en route to a quarterfinal appearance in Washington.
WATCH | Shapovalov extends unbeaten streak against Bautista Agut:
Shapovalov will next face world No. 50 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who moved on with a 6-1, 7-6 (8) win over Montreal's Auger-Aliassime. Mpetshi Perricard fired 22 aces and never faced break point in a convincing win over the eighth-seeded Canadian.
Auger-Aliassime, ranked 19th in the world, has lost six of his last eight matches on tour.
WATCH | Auger-Aliassime slump continues at Swiss Indoors:
Andreescu, Fernandez bounced in quarterfinals
Canada's Bianca Andreescu was eliminated in the quarterfinals at the Toray Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo on Friday after dropping a 6-2, 6-1 decision to Britain's Katie Boulter.
Andreescu, from Mississauga, Ont., won only 45 per cent of points on first serve in the match, which lasted just 62 minutes. Boulter won 87 per cent of first-serve points.
WATCH | Andreescu ousted from Pan Pacific Open:
Boulter will play another Grand Slam singles champion, 2020 Australian Open winner Sofia Kenin, in the semifinals on Saturday. Kenin beat fifth-seeded Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-4.
Later, No. 1 seed and Paris Olympic gold medallist Zheng Qinwen beat eighth-seeded Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., 6-0, 1-6, 6-3. In the semifinals, Zheng will play Diana Shnaider, who advanced in a walkover when Sayaka Ishii was not able to take the court due to an undisclosed illness or injury.
WATCH | Fernandez eliminated in Pan Pacific Open quarters:
In 2022, a 19-year-old Zheng reached the first WTA final of her career in Tokyo, beaten by Liudmila Samsonova in the title match. Two years later, she's the reigning Olympic champion and was coming off a run to the Wuhan final two weeks ago that sealed her qualification for the WTA Finals in Riyadh next month.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will meet the Japanese pair of Eri Hozumi and Shuko Aoyama in Saturday's semifinal.