Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov are through to the quarterfinals at Wimbledon — the first time two Canadian men have made it this far in the tennis tournament.
Auger-Aliassime moved on with a 6-4, 7-6 (6), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4 upset over fourth-ranked German Alexander Zverev on Monday.
Earlier, Shapovalov posted a 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 victory over Roberto Bautista Agut.
Auger-Aliassime withstood a comeback attempt from Zverev and earned what he called ”surely the best victory of my life.” The 20-year-old from Montreal will face Matteo Berrettini next.
The match finished under a closed roof on No. 1 Court after a brief rain delay early in the fifth set.
Auger-Aliassime, seeded 16th at Wimbledon, reached the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam for the first time.
Zverev struggled with his serve throughout and finished with 20 double-faults.
Shapovalov, ranked 10th at the grass-court Grand Slam, fired 15 aces in the win over No. 8 Bautista Agut and broke the Spaniard seven times on 13 chances.
“(I) played some really high-level tennis today,” Shapovalov said. “It’s really, really tough to pick on many things.
“Obviously I got a little bit nervous in the third set. I think it’s completely normal. I dealt with that really, really well. Other than that, I played really flawless.”
Shapovalov, from Richmond Hill, Ont., will next face 25th-seed Karen Khachanov of Russia. Both will be playing in Wimbledon’s final eight for the first time.
The two have met once before, with Shapovalov defeating Khachanov 6-4, 4-6, 6-4 on hardcourt at the 2019 Davis Cup semifinals.
“Obviously I’m expecting a long and tough battle,” Shapovalov said. “He’s a great player, Karen. He’s definitely proven himself time and time again that he’s able to beat top guys and play really well.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 5 , 2021.
CHEK News
