Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime secured a spot in the semifinals of the European Open tennis tournament by defeating American qualifier Eliot Spizzirri 6-2, 7-6 (6) in Brussels, Belgium. Auger-Aliassime sealed the second set with his 11th ace of the match after dominating the first set by breaking Spizzirri’s serve twice without facing any break points himself.
The Canadian faced a tougher challenge in the second set as Spizzirri had two set points in Game 12, but Auger-Aliassime managed to level the score at 6-6 with an ace. Despite Spizzirri taking a 5-3 lead in the tiebreak, Auger-Aliassime rallied to win four of the next five points. The 25-year-old, ranked 13th in the world, will now go up against Belgian wild card Raphael Collignon in the semifinals.
In another match, Denis Shapovalov from Richmond Hill, Ont., advanced to the semifinals of the Stockholm Open by defeating Swedish wild card Elias Ymer 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1. Shapovalov dominated the final set, winning five consecutive games to secure the victory. The world No. 23 is set to face second seed Casper Ruud of Norway, whom he defeated earlier this year in the final of the Dallas Open.
Meanwhile, at the Japan Women’s Open in Osaka, Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Que., overcame Romania’s Sorana Cirstea 6-1, 2-6, 6-4 in the semifinals. Fernandez displayed a powerful performance with one ace, 33 winners, and 31 unforced errors during the nearly two-hour match. With a strong advantage on first serves, she won six out of 12 return games and is now gearing up to compete against Tereza Valentova of the Czech Republic in the championship final.
