Teen titans soar into Miami Open semis
Denis Shapovalov continued a marvellous March for Canadian teen tennis players in epic fashion on Thursday night.
The 19-year-old native of Richmond Hill, Ont., joined fellow Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, 18, in the semifinals of the Miami Open with a 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2 win over American Frances Tiafoe.
Shapovalov, the 20th seed, will face Swiss legend Roger Federer, the No. 4 seed, in the semifinals of the ATP Tour Masters 1000 event.
Meanwhile, Montreal’s Auger-Aliassime, a qualifier, meets No. 7 seed John Isner of the U.S. It will be the first career meeting between Shapovalov and Federer, as well as between Auger-Aliassime and Isner. Both matches are on Friday.
If Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime both win, it would set up the first ever ATP Masters 1000 final featuring two teenagers. It also would mark the second all-Canadian ATP final, five years after Milos Raonic beat Vasek Pospisil in the Citi Open final in Washington, D.C.
Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime are making headlines less than two weeks after 18-year-old Bianca Andreescu of Mississauga, Ont., won the women’s title at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, Calif.
The Tiafoe-Shapovalov match started more than three hours late because of rain. When it finally did get going, fans weren’t disappointed.
Shapovalov rallied from a set down with two breaks in the second set and another two in the third against the 28th-seeded Tiafoe.
With the score tied at 1-1 in the third set, Shapovalov took the lead for good when he converted on his fourth break point opportunity of the game. Federer, 37, who beat No. 6 seed Kevin Anderson of South Africa 6-0, 6-4 on Thursday, said he’s enjoying seeing the younger players make their mark.
“It’s interesting how they go about it differently against one another,” Federer said.
“I think they really have taken it to the next level now, all the bunch of guys we are talking about right now, and it’s really nice to see.”