Lyon Open 2019: Felix Auger-Aliassime advances to semis, Denis Shapovalov falls in quarters

Rudi Schuller

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Lyon Open 2019: Felix Auger-Aliassime advances to semis, Denis Shapovalov falls in quarters image

It was a rollercoaster day for Canada's top two young male tennis stars, as Felix Auger-Aliassime won his quarterfinal match at the 2019 Lyon Open on Thursday while Denis Shapovalov was eliminated.

Auger-Aliassime defeated American Steve Johnson 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, besting his opponent in every statistical facet as the 18-year-old Montreal native continued his dominant play in Lyon. Having entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed, Auger-Aliassime had 11 aces and won 76% of his first-serve points against Johnson, who had no answer for the teenager in the final tuneup competition before the French Open.

The victory puts world No. 28 Auger-Aliassime into his third semifinal of the year, following February's loss to John Isner at the Miami Open in March and a win over Pablo Cuevas in February's Rio Open. He'll take on Nikoloz Basilashvili on Friday in the semifinal round. 

Earlier Thursday, Shapovalov dropped a three-set match to Benoit Paire of France, continuing the Canadian's struggles on clay.

Ranked 23rd in the world, Shapovalov fell 6-3, 4-6, 7-6(4) to unseeded Paire, who entered the tournament ranked 51st. It was just the latest in a string of disappointing performances for the 20-year-old from Toronto, who has compiled a 2-5 record on clay — including a first-round loss to countryman Auger-Aliassime in Madrid earlier this month — since reaching the semifinals in Miami on hard court.

Shapovalov will now prepare for his first-round match at the French Open, where he will meet Germany's Jan Lennard Struff on Sunday. Auger-Aliassime has drawn Australian Jordan Thompson in the first round at Roland-Garros.

Rudi Schuller