Denis Shapovalov is back in the win column after a 6-4, 4-6, 6-2 victory over Croatia's Marin Cilic in the round of 16 of the Open 13 Provence tournament in Marseille, France.
Shapovalov had been mired in a four-match losing streak that extended back to the ASB Classic in January. The 20-year-old Canadian was then ousted in the first round of the Australian Open, Open Sud de France and ATP Rotterdam tournaments as he struggled with consistency in his service game.
On Thursday, his serves were back to normal, as Shapovalov hit 17 aces and just two double faults in the three-set victory over Cilic. As the fourth seed in Marseille, Shapovalov was given a first-round bye but showed no signs of rust against world No. 39 Cilic, requiring less than two hours to defeat him.
MORE: Vasek Pospisil continues to roll
Shapovalov saved six break points (of seven) in the match.
Denis Shapovalov 🔥
— Open 13 Provence (@Open13) February 20, 2020
NEXT 🔜INTO QUARTERFINAL
He just won against Marin Cilic 6-4 4-6 6-2 #O13Provence @denis_shapo pic.twitter.com/g2x2XPaTMt
Ranked 15th in the world, Shapovalov will face world No. 55 Alexander Bublik in the quarterfinals.
Felix moves on
Later Thursday, Montreal native Felix-Auger Aliassime joined compatriots Shapovalov and Vasek Pospisil in the quarterfinal round after taking down France's Pierre-Hugues Herbert in three sets.
It looked as though Auger-Aliassime would roll to an easy victory after he played a near-perfect opening set to jump out 6-0. The 19-year-old broke Herbert's serve three times in the first set alone, taking little more than a half-hour to claim the set victory.
However, Herbert refused to lie down after being taken apart in the opening stages. The French veteran pushed back, giving up no break point opportunities in the second set and saving three in the third as he brought Auger-Aliassime to the brink in a third-set tiebreak that required the Canadian to fight off three match points.
Auger-Aliassime eventually regained control for good, winning the final tiebreak 11-9 and moving on.
Young star @felixtennis defeats French player P-H Herbert 6-0 6-7(6) 7-6(9-6) He moves into quarters after an incredibly tense match & saved 3 match points 🇨🇦👏🏼 #O13Provence #atptour #tennis pic.twitter.com/lNAJDrBoy1
— Open 13 Provence (@Open13) February 20, 2020
Auger-Aliassime will face either David Goffin or Egor Gerasimov in the quarters.