Victory semi-sweet for Canadian Shapovalov
Toronto teen sensation marches into final four night after upset for ages
MONTREAL— Canadian teen Denis Shapovalov advanced to the Rogers Cup semifinals with a 2-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory over Adrian Mannarino on Friday night.
The 18-year-old from Toronto was coming off a second-round win over 2009 U.S. Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro and a thrilling three-set upset of top-seeded tennis legend Rafael Nadal in the round of 16.
Shapovalov will meet fourth-seeded Alexander Zverev or Kevin Anderson. The 29-year-old Mannarino knocked out Canada’s top player, Milos Raonic, in the second round, although the big-server from Thornhill played with a swollen wrist.
Shapovalov started out looking low on energy despite the encouragement of the packed centre-court crowd. He double-faulted on break point in the opening game en route to a quick first-set loss.
The two left-handers were on serve in the second when play was halted 20 minutes for a light rain but the crowd sprang to life, chanting “Let’s go Denis” on the changeovers as he broke serve and then served out the set.
As it was against Nadal, Shapovalov spent much of the match alternating between errors and impressive winners, consistently fighting off break points on his serve. He had nine aces and seven double faults.
He broke service for a 2-1lead in the third, only to hand it back in the next game, but a roar went up when Mannarino wasted a chance to put away a game point and Shapovalov jumped on the chance to break for a 5-4 lead. He leapt in the air as he closed out the match.
Earlier, second-seeded Roger Federer continued his mastery over 12th-seeded Roberto Bautista Agut with a 6-4, 6-4 victory. The 36-yearold great will face unseeded Robin Haase, a 4-6, 6-3, 6-3 winner over Diego Schwartzman.
Federer has won all seven career matches and taken all 16 sets against the 29-year-old Bautista Agut. He is 1-0 against Haase — a straight-sets win in Davis Cup play in 2012. Federer said he knows Haase well from serving with him on the ATP player council and practising together.