Montreal native Felix Auger-Aliassime secured a spot in the semifinals of the European Open tennis tournament by defeating American qualifier Eliot Spizzirri with a score of 6-2, 7-6 (6) in Brussels, Belgium. Auger-Aliassime sealed the second set tiebreaker 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, seeded second in the tournament and ranked 13th globally, faced a more resilient Spizzirri in the second set, with the American holding two set points in Game 12. However, Auger-Aliassime managed to level the score at 6-6 with an ace, eventually triumphing in the tiebreak after initially trailing 5-3 and winning four of the final five points.
In a separate event, Denis Shapovalov from Richmond Hill, Ont., emerged victorious in his quarterfinal match at the Stockholm Open against Swedish wildcard Elias Ymer with a score of 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1. Shapovalov, ranked third in Stockholm and 23rd globally, dominated the final set by winning five consecutive games, setting up a semifinal clash with second seed Casper Ruud from Norway, whom he had previously defeated in the Dallas Open final earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Que., triumphed over Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in the semifinals of the Japan Women’s Open in Osaka with a score of 6-1, 2-6, 6-4. Despite 31 unforced errors, Fernandez’s 33 winners and strong first-serve advantage propelled her to victory, winning six out of 12 return games. She is set to compete against Tereza Valentova from the Czech Republic in the championship final.
