ATP roundup: Canadian teen reaches Rio semis

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[February 23, 2019]  Felix Auger-Aliassime, an 18-year-old Canadian, advanced to his first career ATP Tour semifinal appearance with a 6-4, 6-3 victory over Spain's Jaume Munar on Friday in the Rio Open at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Aliassime, ranked 104th in the world, had just seven career wins on the top-level tour before winning three consecutive matches this week. He was the more aggressive player against Munar, producing 32 winners and 34 errors, while the Spaniard had seven winners and 18 errors.

Next up for Aliassime is a matchup against the winner of the Friday night match featuring Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas and Spain's Albert Ramos-Vinolas.

The other semifinal will be an all-European affair. Slovenia's Aljaz Bedene, a 4-6, 6-2, 6-3 winner over Bolivia's Hugo Dellien, will oppose Serbia's Laslo Djere, who knocked out Norway's Casper Ruud 6-4, 7-5.



Open 13 Provence

French wild-card entrant Ugo Humbert continued his march in Marseille, France, defeating Matthias Bachinger 6-3, 6-3 to reach his first career semifinal.

Humbert, a 20-year-old ranked 75th, had a 3-7 career match record on the ATP Tour prior to this week, though he won a Challenger (second-tier) event last week in Cherbourg, France.

Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin, who beat Russia's Andrey Rublev 6-4, 6-1, will meet Humbert in the semifinals.

Third-seeded David Goffin of Belgium topped sixth-seeded Gilles Simon of France 6-2, 6-4 to set up a semifinal against top-seeded Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas, who beat Ukraine's Sergiy Stakhovsky 6-4, 6-3.

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Felix Auger-Aliassime of Canada reaches for a forehand against Denis Shapovalov of Canada (not pictured) in the first round on day one of the 2018 U.S. Open tennis tournament at USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Delray Beach Open

Thanks to 24 aces, second-seeded John Isner of the U.S. posted a 7-6 (2), 6-4 win over eighth-seeded Adrian Mannarino of France in the quarterfinals at Delray Beach, Fla.

Isner saved all three break points he faced and earned the lone service break of the match midway through the second set.

His semifinal opponent will be Great Britain's Daniel Evans, who upset sixth-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy 6-4, 6-4.

The other semifinal will see Moldova's Radu Albot, a 1-6, 6-3, 7-6 (5) winner over fourth-seeded American Steve Johnson, taking on either top-seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina or American Mackenzie McDonald.

--Field Level Media

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