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Canadian Denis Shapovalov advances to Stockholm quarterfinals

STOCKHOLM — Canada's Denis Shapovalov is off to the quarterfinals at the Stockholm Open.

The No. 4 seed from Richmond Hill, Ont., beat Australian qualifier Alexei Popyrin 6-4, 7-6 (3) on Thursday in a second-round match at the ATP Tour 250 event.

Shapovalov, who got a first-round bye, won 92 per cent of his points when he got his first serve in and saved four of five break-point chances for the 90th-ranked Popyrin.

The 20-year-old Shapovalov, ranked 34th, is looking for his first career ATP Tour title.

The draw could be in the Canadian's favour. Just one other seeded player — No. 5 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain — is left.

Top seed Fabio Fognini of Italy lost 6-1, 6-1 to Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia on Thursday. Tipsarevic, 35, is playing in his final ATP event before retirement.

Shapovalov will face German qualifier Cedrik-Marcel Stebe in the quarterfinals on Friday.

Shapovalov also qualified for the Next Gen ATP Finals (for the top eight 21-and-under players) on Thursday when Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic lost in Moscow.

The Canadian first played in the Next Gen ATP Finals during the inaugural event in 2017. He made it last year too, but later withdrew.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 17, 2019.

 

 

The Canadian Press


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