Shapovalov rolls into Dubai semis with dominant display over Chardy
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime falls in quarters at Mexican Open
Canada's Denis Shapovalov is heading to the semifinals of the Dubai Championships after beating France's Jeremy Chardy 7-5, 6-4 on Thursday.
The third-seeded Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., hasn't lost a game on serve in three matches this week.
"I definitely focused on my serve a lot the last couple weeks in practice," Shapovalov said. "Just putting a lot of time into it, placing it, trying different serves out and trying to have more variation. I'm definitely very happy with the way I'm serving. Hopefully I can continue that."
Shapovalov won 93 per cent of points (26-of-28) when he got his first serve in against Chardy and 82 per cent (18-of-22) on second serve.
WATCH | Denis Shapovalov cruises to Dubai semifinals with victory over Jeremy Chardy:
Shapovalov, ranked 12th in the world, never faced a break point. Chardy, the world No. 53, was 0-for-2 when facing break point.
The Canadian is now 3-0 lifetime against Chardy.
"I just think I played really well on the break points and big points and I was able to serve and play the games on my serve pretty freely, which helped put more pressure on his service games," Shapovalov said.
Shapovalov advances to his 12th career semifinals. He'll face South African qualifier Lloyd Harris, who beat Japan's Kei Nishikori 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in another quarter-final at the ATP Tour 500 event.
"He should definitely be ranked higher than he is right now," Shapovalov said of the world No. 81. "He's very tough, got a great serve and great forehand. He likes to play big and go for it."
Harris became the first qualifier to reach the semis.
The 81st-ranked South African saved two break points in the third set before breaking Nishikori for a 5-3 lead. Harris, who also knocked out top-seeded Dominic Thiem in the second round, finished with 14 aces.
Rublev, Karatsev set for all-Russian clash
In a rematch of the Rotterdam final played less than two weeks ago, Andrey Rublev beat Marton Fucsovics 7-5, 6-2 to set up an all-Russian semifinal against Aslan Karatsev. Rublev also beat Fucsovics in straight sets to win the Rotterdam title.
Karatsev upset a seeded player for the third round in a row by beating No. 16 Jannik Sinner 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-2. Karatsev soared up the rankings after reaching the Australian Open semifinals on his Grand Slam main-draw debut last month. Since the start of February his only losses have come against Novak Djokovic and Thiem.
Auger-Aliassime eliminated in Mexico
Canada's Felix Auger-Aliassime has been ousted in Acapulco.
No. 1 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece toppled Auger-Aliassime in the quarter-finals on Thursday at the Mexican Open.
Tsitsipas downed the seventh-seeded Montrealer 7-5, 4-6, 6-3 — needing two hours and four minutes to advance at the ATP-500 level tournament.
WATCH | Auger-Alissiame bested by Tsitsipas:
Auger-Aliassime beat Tsitsipas twice in 2019, but the Greek has won the past three meeting between the two.
Tsitsipas will face either Italian qualifier Lorenzo Musetti or No. 5 seed Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria in the semifinals.
