SHERBROOKE, March 11, 2017
Canadian teenagers Felix Auger-Aliassime from Montreal and Denis Shapovalov from Richmond Hill as well as their fellow countryman Brayden Schnur advanced to the semifinals at the $25,000 Subaru Sherbrooke Futures presented by Énergie 106,1, held at the Christian Bourque indoor tennis courts of the Rock Forest Recreation Centre in Sherbrooke.
Auger-Aliassime had the toughest quarterfinal draw, facing the tournament’s top seed Edward Corrie of Great Britain on Friday. In a tight first set, Auger-Aliassime relied on his strong service game to get him past his resilient opponent, tallying 10 of his 15 aces in the first. After a lengthy tiebreak, the Brit seemed rejuvenated and took the second set. In the decisive third set, the Canadian broke his opponent early and never looked back, winning the match 7-6(10), 3-6, 6-1 in a little over two hours.
The tournament’s second seed Denis Shapovalov cruised through his quarterfinal match against the Frenchman Laurent Lokoli, the fifth seed. The 17-year-old not only relied on his effective serve, tallying four aces in the match, he was also strong on his returns. In a match that lasted under an hour, Shapovalov moved past his opponent in identical sets 6-4, 6-4. In a rematch of last week’s final at the Gatineau Futures, the Canadian will face Gleb Sakharov of France on Saturday afternoon.
Brayden Schnur was also in action on Friday, where he took on the tournament’s fourth seed Gregoire Barrere of France. The Canadian began the match on a strong note, breaking his opponent and then firing three aces to hold serve. After closing out the first set in 16 minutes, Schnur continued his strong play in the second, relying on his effective serve. The match ended in under an hour, with the Canadian firing an impressive total of 13 aces, winning 6-1, 6-3. He will face compatriot Auger-Aliassime in the semi-final on Saturday at noon.
Arvidsson And Nielsen Take Doubles Title
Friday also played host to the doubles final, which featured the tournament’s fourth seeds, Mikelis Libietis of Latvia and Hugo Nys of France, taking on the top seeds, Isak Arvidsson of Sweden and Frederik Nielsen from Denmark. The tournament favorites jumped out to a quick lead, breaking their opponents early and taking the first set. They continued their dominant play in the second set, eventually capturing the doubles title with a 6-0, 6-4 win.
