Shapovalov eliminated at Geneva Open ahead of French Open appearance

Canada's Denis Shapovalov is out of the Geneva Open after falling 6-7 (7) 7-6 (4) 6-3 to Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands.

Shapovalov, of Richmond Hill, Ont., fired 10 aces, committed four double faults, and landed 64 per cent of his first serves in a match that finished Thursday after being suspended Wednesday night due to rain.

Griekspoor had five aces, six double faults, and landed 57 per cent of his first serves.

The sixth-seeded Griekspoor went on to drop a 7-5 6-1 quarterfinal decision to No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic, who took a step closer to ending his title drought in 2024.

Shapovalov will play in the French Open next week.

WATCH | Shapovalov lands 64 per cent of serves in 3-set loss to Griekspoor:

Denis Shapovalov eliminated from Geneva Open in match that was suspended overnight

6 months ago

Duration 1:28

Tallon Griekspoor of the Netherlands began the day down 6-7(7), 3-3, but rallied to a 6-7(7), 7-6(4), 6-3 to eliminate Denis Shapovalov of Richmond Hill, Ont., in the Round of 16 at the Geneva Open.

Djokovic, the 24-time Grand Slam winner, will face Czech Tomas Machac in Friday's semifinals at 8 a.m. ET.

Djokovic, who accepted a late wildcard to compete at the ATP 250 tournament ahead of defending his French Open title, got himself out of a hole as he saved four set points from 0-40 down in the 10th game before breaking his opponent for a 6-5 lead. He then served out the first set.

The 37-year-old Serb kept the momentum going as he broke serve three times in the second set, lasting just 25 minutes, to prevail over the world No. 27.

"Great win. I thought that the first set could have gone his way easily because I think he was the better player for most of the first set," said Djokovic, who has been stuck on 98 singles titles since triumphing at last year's ATP Finals.

'I was lucky to find some good serves'

"He had three set points. I was facing 0-40 at 5-4 for him, so we could have been having a completely different direction of the match if he converted those set points.

"I was lucky to find some really good serves and from that moment onwards really played some good solid tennis. The second set was really good. I want to thank everybody for the support on this cold day."

Djokovic celebrated his 37th birthday on Wednesday by beating unseeded Yannick Hanfmann 6-3, 6-3.

It was the 1,100th victory for the World No. 1 at ATP tournaments.

Djokovic rallied from 3-0 down in the final set by winning six straight games. He converted his second match point when Hanfmann's forehand hit the net.

The 32-year-old German broke Djokovic in the second game of the set when Djokovic struggled with his first serve.

The second-round match had earlier been suspended by rain with Djokovic trying to serve out the first set 5-3, deuce.

The record 24-time Grand Slam champion wasted a set point and had to save four break points before the match was interrupted by rainfall.

He had to save another break point after play resumed before serving out the set with an ace.

Hanfmann had eliminated Andy Murray in the first round 7-5, 6-2.

The Geneva Open final is scheduled for Saturday, one day before main draw play starts at Roland Garros, where Djokovic is the defending champion.

Fernandez-Routliffe on to Strasbourg quarters

Canadian Leylah Fernandez and her partner, Erin Routliffe, defeated Nicole Melichar-Martinez and Ellen Perez in a 6-4, 6-7, 10-4 Round of 16 victory at the Internationaux de Strasbourg on Wednesday. They will face Fang-Hsien Wu and Hao-Ching Chan in the quarterfinals Thursday.

The Laval, Que., native fell to Russia's Liudmila Samsonova in a Round of 16 single's match on Tuesday.

WATCH | Fernandez bested by Samsonova at Internationaux de Strasbourg:

Leylah Fernandez falls in rain-delayed Round of 16 match in Strasbourg

6 months ago

Duration 1:55

Russia's Liudmila Samsonova bested Leylah Fernandez of Laval, Que., 4-6, 6-4, 6-2 in a rain-delayed Round of 16 match at the Internationaux de Strasbourg in France.