Canadians Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov secured spots in the quarterfinals of the Swiss Indoors in Basel, Switzerland, with convincing straight-set victories on Thursday.
Auger-Aliassime, the reigning champion from 2022 and 2023, delivered a stellar performance, smashing 28 aces in a 7-6 (7), 7-6 (5) win against Marin Cilic of Croatia. The Montreal native showcased an impressive first-serve percentage of 96% and managed to avoid facing any break points. This triumph marked Auger-Aliassime’s sixth consecutive indoor win following his recent victory in Brussels, positioning him well for a potential spot in the ATP Finals in Turin as the fifth seed.
On the other hand, Shapovalov claimed a solid 7-6 (5), 6-2 victory over Valentin Royer of France, utilizing his powerful serve to strike 11 aces. The player from Richmond Hill, Ontario, broke his opponent’s serve three times and dominated with a 76% success rate on first serves.
Looking ahead, Shapovalov is set to challenge Joao Fonseca from Brazil in the next round, while Auger-Aliassime will face Jaume Munar of Spain, who caused an upset by defeating second-seeded Ben Shelton of the USA with a score of 6-3, 6-4 in the previous round. With potential quarterfinal victories, Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov could potentially square off in an intriguing all-Canadian semifinal matchup.