Shapovalov, Auger-Aliassime advance to Wimbledon quarter-finals, in a first for Canada

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Canadian tennis has taken a giant step forward after rising stars Denis Shapovalov and Félix Auger-Aliassime reached the quarter-finals of Wimbledon on Monday, the first time two Canadians have gotten this far at a Grand Slam.

Neither player had ever advanced beyond the third round at Wimbledon before, and both had to beat top-10 opponents to move on.

Shapovalov cruised to a 6-1, 6-3, 7-5 victory over world No. 10 Roberto Bautista Agut. A few hours later, Auger-Aliassime outlasted sixth-ranked Alexander Zverev 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), 3-6, 3-6, 6-4 in a match that took more than four hours to complete and ended with the stadium roof closed because of rain.

The only other Canadian men to reach a Wimbledon quarter-finals in singles are Milos Raonic, Robert Powell and Vasek Pospisil. And Canada has never had two men in the quarter-finals of a Grand Slam.

“It feels really good,” Auger-Aliassime said afterwards. “The country’s behind us. My city is behind me. It’s really good to have this much support. Again, a great day for us Canadians and hopefully it keeps going.”

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Both players have been turning heads throughout the tournament, especially Shapovalov, 22, whose aggressive style and blistering serves have made him a crowd favourite. British fans have forgiven him for thrashing Andy Murray on Centre Court last Friday – 6-4, 6-2, 6-2 – and he’s now been adopted by many as a hometown boy. “I definitely felt the support today,” Shapovalov said after his match. “It really gave me goose bumps.”

Shapovalov, who is ranked 12th in the world, has rarely shown such dominance. After demolishing Murray, some pundits thought the Canadian would have his hands full with Bautista Agut, 33, who has previously been a Wimbledon semi-finalist and was seeded eighth this year, two spots ahead of Shapovalov.

Instead, it was Shapovalov who made short work of the Spaniard, breaking his serve in the first game and taking the first set 6-1 in barely half an hour. By the time the match had ended, Shapovalov had smashed 15 aces and scored 52 winners, nearly four times as many as Bautista Agut.

“I played some really high-level tennis today,” Shapovalov said. “I played really, really flawless and was super happy with myself.”

Bautista Agut seemed almost shell-shocked after the match. “Well, I played against a very good version of Denis,” he told reporters. “I think he played great. He was hitting so hard.”

For Auger-Aliassime, 20, the final stages of Monday’s match had eerie similarities to his fourth-round debacle at this year’s Australian Open. In Melbourne, he blew a two-set lead to Aslan Karatsev and lost 6-3, 6-1, 3-6, 3-6, 4-6.

It could have gone just as bad this time, considering he’d never taken a set off of Zverev in their three previous meetings. But this time when he got to the fifth set, Auger-Aliassime managed to pull through.

The set was delayed while officials closed the roof and the indoor climate seemed to reinvigorate Auger-Aliassime. He quickly had the German on the run and picked up an early break to lead 2-0. He could have built on that lead in the next game, but he botched three break points and gave Zverev a lifeline. Just as the German looked to be turning things his way, Auger-Aliassime won another break and served out the match with the crowd chanting his name.

“It’s a dream come true,” he told the fans in a courtside interview after the match. “I’m a normal guy from Montreal, Canada, and here I am. Surely, the best victory of my life so far.”

He told reporters that visions of the Melbourne match briefly flashed through his mind. “Of course, this time around, I didn’t want to let it happen to me twice. It would have been tough to accept,” he said. “I had to dig deep physically and mentally. Of course, it makes it even sweeter.”

Zverev, 24, had little to say after the match and cited his own poor play, which included 20 double faults. “Yeah, I mean, he plays well on the grass court,” he said. “But obviously, I’ve got to look at myself a little bit, as well. I did give him a lot of presents, I would say that, in quite important moments.”

Auger-Aliassime, who is 19th in the world, faces Matteo Berrettini in the quarter-finals. The Italian is ranked 10 places higher than Auger-Aliassime and the pair know each other well. Berrettini’s girlfriend, Australian tennis player Ajla Tomljanovic, who also won on Monday, is a cousin of Nina Ghaibi, a Croatian equestrian who is dating Auger-Aliassime. “He’s one of my best friends on the tour,” Auger-Aliassime said. “So it just happens that we spend a lot of time together.”

Shapovalov takes on 29th-ranked Karen Khachanov of Russia, who beat Sebastian Korda of the United States on Monday 3-6, 6-4, 6-3, 5-7, 10-8.

Given the crowd support they’ve gotten so far, the young Canadians can expect even more backing in the next round. Wimbledon officials announced on Monday that the British government has allowed them to have capacity crowds at the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals of the men’s and women’s singles.

Attendance had been cut in half since the start of the tournament because of COVID-19 restrictions, but the government has begun easing the measures. The decision means there’ll be roughly 15,000 and 12,000 screaming fans at the All England Lawn Tennis Club’s two main venues, Centre Court and Court No. 1.

And Canadian tennis fans can keep this dream in mind: If Shapovalov and Auger-Aliassime keep winning, they could set up an all-Canadian final on Sunday.

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