Félix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov had very different matches in their respective European quarters, but both managed to book their spot into the final four.
Auger Aliassime is doing all the right things in order to sneak into next month’s ATP Finals. The Canadian is back in the semifinals of the European Open, an event he won in 2022 when he last qualified for the year-end championship, with a straight-set win over American Eliot Spizzirri on Friday in Brussels.
Back on his beloved indoor hard-courts, Auger-Aliassime looked significantly better in his quarter-final than during his three-set second-round win on Thursday over Damir Dzumhur. Showing few ill-effects from the nearly three-hour tussle, the Canadian raced out of the gate on Friday against the former NCAA star and held off a late push to reach his eighth semifinal of 2025 with a 6-2, 7-6(6) win.
It was a classic Auger-Aliassime indoor performance. He struck 11 aces, won 82 per cent of his first-serve points, and basted 34 winners to 23 unforced errors. While Spizzirri showed himself capable of some impressive power hitting, especially in the late stages of the second set, he did himself more harm than good, committing 20 unforced errors to just 18 winners.
Early on, it was all Auger-Aliassime. The Canadian started applying pressure right from the start, creating a break point in the opening game of the match. Spizzirri managed to hold his first two service games before Auger-Aliassime took control, reeling off five games in a row to take the set.
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From 1-2 down in the first, Auger-Aliassime won eight of the next nine games, carrying the momentum into the second set where he raced out to a 3-1 lead. For the first hour, the Canadian barely faced any pressure on serve. However, when Spizzirri finally had a shot at a break, he seized it, converting his first break point of the day to level at 4-4.
Suddenly, the American was in the ascendancy, applying constant pressure to Auger-Aliassime's serve. The Canadian had to save a break/set point on his own delivery in the 10th game and two more in the 12th but he managed to hold on to force a tiebreak.
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Like earlier in the set, a 3-1 lead slipped away from the Canadian in the breaker. The tiebreak came to a dramatic end full of spectacular physical rallies. Auger-Aliassime set up his first match point at 6-5 with an incredible defensive backhand lob winner but could not convert when he narrowly missed a forehand wide. At 6-6, Spizzirri teed off on shot after shot but the Canadian showed off his defensive skills to hang in before using the American’s pace against him to draw an error.
With the second match point coming on his own serve, Auger-Aliassime finished off the win with an ace.
Not only does the win send the Canadian into the semifinals, but it also bolsters his bid to qualify for the ATP Finals. There is a big opportunity now for Auger-Aliassime to gain ground in the Race to Turin on Lorenzo Musetti, who was upset in his quarter-final in Brussels earlier on Friday.
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The gap between the pair for the final spot at the year-end championships is now under 500 points. Auger-Aliassime can gain another 65 points on the Italian if he beats either Raphael Collignon or Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in the semis on Saturday.
-Pete
Shapovalov Avoids Stockholm Quarter-final Upset to Home Favourite Ymer
Denis Shapovalov overcame a passionate Swedish crowd, and some discomfort, in his BNP Paribas Nordic Open quarter-final. Still, the Canadian managed to get by home favourite Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-7(3), 6-1 in Stockholm on Friday.
Shapovalov dealt with a back issue in the opener, which forced him to take a medical timeout before eventually closing out the set. The Canuck served for the match twice in the second but Ymer was resilient and forced a decisive set where Shapovalov was able to wrap up the quarter-final just after midnight local time.
Right out of the gate, Shapovalov took a love-40 grasp of the opening game, however, a favourable early-break opportunity eventually turned into a Ymer hold.
The Canadian took just under six minutes combined to hold over his first two service games while the Swede needed a total of 28 minutes to do so over that same span. The set stood at 2-2.
In the ninth game, at 30-all, Shapovalov hit a passing shot but came out favouring his back. The 26-year-old still managed to convert on break point to lead 5-4, then took a medical timeout before serving for the opener.
After the brief stop in play, Shapovalov returned to the court and won four-straight points to seal the first set.
Ymer had the upper hand early in the second, breaking the Canadian No. 2 in the second game, but Shapovalov responded with back-to-back breaks to hold a 3-2 advantage.
The Richmond Hillian let four break points slip away at 4-2 and had to wait till the tenth game to get the chance serve out the match. Shapovalov ran into some pressure at 5-4, 15-40, and Ymer’s backhand winner kept him alive in the quarter-final as the Stockholm crowd erupted.
Shapovalov broke back, quieting the Swedish faithful and allowing him to try to serve out the match for the second time. However, in a 15-40 hole once again, the Canadian’s forehand found the net, taking the set to a tiebreak.
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A mini-break bumped Shapovalov 2-0 in front but Ymer managed to level. At 3-3, the Swede won four-straight points out of the changeover as the home favourite was serenaded by the Swedish crowd heading into the decisive set.
Song soon turned into silence as Shapovalov took control of the third. At 2-1, 30-15, the world No. 23 won seven-straight points to break and hold, leading 4-1.
Fatigue started to set in for Ymer who was broken again in the sixth game, and a third chance to serve out the match came Shapovalov’s way. At 5-1, 30-all, the Canadian fired his fifth ace to hold his first match point of the evening, converting to secure the win just after midnight in the Swedish capital.
Shapovalov faces world No. 12 Casper Ruud in Saturday’s semifinal in a rematch of this year’s Dallas final, where the Richmond Hillian won his first ATP 500 title.
-Francesco
Feature Photo : ATP Tour
