denis shapovalov
Denis Shapovalov has punched his ticket to the Dallas Open semifinals, following an upset victory over third-seeded Alejandro Davidovich Fokina of Spain on Friday.
The seventh seed from Richmond Hill, Ont., lost the opening set of the men’s singles quarterfinal showdown 7-5, but bounced back with 6-4, 6-3 wins to earn a spot in the ATP 500 event’s final four. Shapovalov will face second-seeded American Ben Shelton, who outlasted Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic 5-7, 6-3, 6-4 in their quarterfinal tilt.
Both quarterfinals took one hour, 58 minutes to complete.
Top-seeded American Taylor Fitz will play Croatian Marin Cilic in the other semifinal.
Shapovalov recorded 17 aces against Fokina and only had two double faults. He won 14 of 15 service games and two of 14 return games. He had 39 unforced errors and won two of seven break points.
Fokina had two aces, three double faults, 21 unforced errors and won 12 of 14 service games and only one of 15 return games.
Shapovalov fired 22 aces en route to downing American Aleksandar Kovacevic 6-4, 6-4 on Thursday.