Montreal’s Felix Auger-Aliassime secured a spot in the semifinals of the European Open tennis tournament by defeating American qualifier Eliot Spizzirri 6-2, 7-6 (6) in Brussels, Belgium. Auger-Aliassime sealed the second set with his 11th ace of the game after dominating the first set, breaking Spizzirri’s serve twice without facing any break points himself.
The Canadian faced a tougher challenge in the second set as Spizzirri had two set points before Auger-Aliassime leveled the score at 6-6 with an ace. Despite falling behind 5-3 in the tiebreak, Auger-Aliassime rallied to win four of the next five points. Ranked 13th in the world, the 25-year-old will now face Belgian wildcard Raphael Collignon in the semifinals.
In another match on Friday, Denis Shapovalov from Richmond Hill, Ont., emerged victorious in the quarterfinals of the Stockholm Open against Swedish wildcard Elias Ymer with a score of 6-4, 6-7 (3), 6-1. Shapovalov, ranked third in the tournament, dominated the final set by winning the last five games, setting up a showdown with second seed Casper Ruud of Norway, whom he defeated earlier this year in the Dallas Open final.
Meanwhile, at the Japan Women’s Open in Osaka, Leylah Fernandez from Laval, Que., overcame Romania’s Sorana Cirstea in a hard-fought semifinal match with a score of 6-1, 2-6, 6-4. Fernandez’s strong serving and aggressive play helped her secure the victory, setting up a final clash against Tereza Valentova from the Czech Republic.