Shapovalov advances to Swiss Indoors quarters with win over Bautista Agut

BASEL, Switzerland — Canada's Denis Shapovalov advanced to the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors tennis tournament with a 6-3, 7-6 (4) win over Roberto Bautista Agut on Thursday, while two-time defending champion Felix Auger-Aliassime was eliminated..

Shapovalov used a strong service game to overcome the Spanish veteran for the win at the ATP 500 event in just under one hour 40 minutes. The 25-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ont., fired 18 aces, including one to set up match point in the second-set tiebreaker, and won 79 per cent of first-serves and 63 per cent of second-serve points.

Shapovalov, a former top-10 player on the ATP Tour, entered this year's Swiss Indoors ranked 95th and will appear in just his second quarterfinal of the season.

He improved to 3-0 against Bautista Agut, who he beat in July en route to a quarterfinal appearance in Washington.

Shapovalov will next face world No. 50 Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard, who moved on with a 6-1, 7-6 (8) win over Montreal's Auger-Aliassime. Mpetshi Perricard fired 22 aces and never faced break point in a convincing win over the eighth-seeded Canadian.

Auger-Aliassime, ranked 19th in the world, has lost six of his last eight matches on tour.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.