Canadian tennis stars Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov progressed to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors tournament in Basel, Switzerland, after securing victories in straight sets. Auger-Aliassime, a two-time champion, delivered a dominant performance against Marin Cilic of Croatia, winning 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5) while hitting 28 aces. Maintaining a remarkable first-serve percentage of 96, the Montreal native did not concede any break points. This win marked Auger-Aliassime’s sixth consecutive indoor victory following his recent triumph in Brussels, boosting his chances of qualifying for the ATP Finals in Turin as the fifth seed.
On the other hand, Shapovalov also triumphed in straight sets, defeating Valentin Royer from France with a scoreline of 7-6 (5), 6-2 and serving 11 aces. The player from Richmond Hill, Ontario, secured three breaks against his opponent and excelled in winning 76% of first-serve points. Shapovalov is set to face Joao Fonseca of Brazil in the next round, while Auger-Aliassime will take on Jaume Munar from Spain, who caused an upset by beating American Ben Shelton in straight sets.
With potential quarterfinal victories, Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov could potentially meet in an eagerly anticipated all-Canadian semifinal clash.