Canada's Auger-Aliassime advances to semifinals of Open 13 in Marseille
Denis Shapovalov, Vasek Pospisil eliminated in quarter-final round
Felix Auger-Aliassime is the last Canadian standing at the Open 13 Provence tennis tournament after preventing the country from going winless in three quarter-final matches Friday.
The No. 7 seed from Montreal beat qualifier Egor Gerasimov of Belarus 7-5, 6-2 in the final quarter-final.
Earlier, No. 4 seed Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., and unseeded Vasek Pospisil of Vancouver were eliminated at the ATP 250 indoor hardcourt tournament.
Kazakhstan's Alexander Bublik defeated Shapovalov 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 before No. 2 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece defeated Pospisil 7-5, 6-3.
It marked the first time since 1990 three Canadians reached the quarter-finals at the same ATP event.
The 19-year-old Auger-Aliassime is on a roll on the European indoor hardcourts, reaching the semifinals this week after a runner-up finish last week in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
After saving a combined five match points in his first two matches in Marseille, the 18th-ranked Auger-Aliassime won in straight sets for the first time at the tournament against the 72nd-ranked Gerasimov.
Gerasimov converted on his lone break-point opportunity, while Auger-Aliassime was 4-for-11 in the same category. The Canadian won 83 per cent of points when he got his first serve in.
Auger-Aliassime will face world No. 58 Gilles Simon in the semifinals after the Frenchman upset top seed Daniil Medvedev of Russia 6-4, 6-0. The Canadian won his only previous meeting against Simon, prevailing 7-5, 6-4 on grass outdoors in Stuttgart, Germany last year.
Shapovalov failed to take advantage of opportunities to control his quarter-final, converting just two of 10 break-point opportunities. Bublik was slightly better with three of nine break points converted, handing Shapovalov his fifth loss in the past six matches.
WATCH: Shapovalov defeated in quarter-finals at ATP event:
Bublik had 14 aces to Shapovalov's seven in a match that took two hours 17 minutes to complete.
Shapovalov had a bye in the first round and defeated Marin Cilic in the second round to reach the quarter-finals.
Ranked No. 15 in the world, Shapovalov entered the Open 13 having lost his first match in three straight tournaments. He hadn't reached a quarter-final since the ASB Classic in New Zealand in mid-January.
Pospisil ousted by Tsitsipas in quarters:
The 98th-ranked Pospisil, meanwhile, didn't have one break-point opportunity against world No. 6 Tsitsipas. The 21-year-old Tsitsipas won 26 of 30 points when he got his first serve in.
"It wasn't easy, I knew I'd have to fight and be dynamic," said Tsitsipas. "He plays a very aggressive brand of tennis, so every point has to be treated respectfully. I played with passion and patience, and my fighting spirit, when I'm in the right zone, means good things can happen."
Raonic advances to Delray Beach Open semifinal
No. 2-seeded Milos Raonic of Thornhill, Ont., advanced to his first ATP Tour semifinal since June by beating American Steve Johnson 7-6 (6), 6-3 on Friday night at the Delray Beach Open.
Raonic endured an injury-filled year in 2019. His opponent Saturday will be No. 4 Reilly Opelka of the United States, who never faced a break point and eliminated Soonwoo Kwon 6-3, 6-4.
WATCH | Raonic overcomes Johnson:
