Shapovalov to face Nadal in Paris Masters semifinals

Canadian Denis Shapovalov remained in top form at the Paris Masters on Friday, rolling past France’s Gael Monfils 6-2, 6-2.

The 20-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., currently ranked 28th in the world, posted his third straight win over a Top 15 opponent. Better yet, the victory will place Shapovalov in the Top 20 of the ATP Tour season-ending rankings.

In today’s semifinals, Shapovalov will face No. 2 Rafael Nadal, who powered past No. 35 Jo-wilfried Tsonga 7-6(4), 6-1 on Friday.

Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic destroyed a woeful Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-1, 6-2 to book his place in the semifinals.

The Serbian, who will be supplanted as world No. 1 by Nadal on Monday, showed no signs of the cold that had bothered him in his first two rounds as he produced a brilliant display that lasted less than an hour.

He’ll next face Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov, whose solid run at Bercy continued when he saw off Chile’s Cristian Garin 6-2, 7-5.

Djokovic, a 16-time Grand Slam champion, raced through the first set and came close to handing Greek seventh seed Tsitsipas a bagel as he set up three set points at 5-0.

Karolina Pliskova won a see-saw battle with Simona Halep in their final group match at the WTA Finals on Friday, downing the Romanian 6-0, 2-6, 6-4 to set up a semifinal with world No. 1 Ashleigh Barty in China.

Pliskova’s win means she faces off against Australian Barty in a clash between the world’s top two female players.

“We have played so many good matches and she’s having a great year, so it’s going to be super tough,” said Pliskova.