Top seed Roger Federer was upset in the second round of the Gonet Geneva Open, and second seed Denis Shapovalov nearly suffered the same fate. But the Canadian rallied past Italian qualifier Marco Cecchinato 6-7(4), 7-5, on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals, which will be played later in the day.
Shapovalov did well to shake off the disappointment of letting slip two match points against Rafael Nadal at his last tournament, the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. The World No. 15 will play Serbian Laslo Djere for a spot in the semi-finals.
[WATCH LIVE 1]
This match was supposed to be played Wednesday evening, but was pushed back due to rain. And once play began, Cecchinato showed some of the form that has helped him win three ATP Tour titles and reach the Roland Garros semi-finals in 2018.
Shapovalov, who is pursuing his second tour-level crown this week, dug into the Swiss clay and broke the World No. 104's serve three times across the final two sets to advance after two hours and 22 minutes. The Canadian hit 15 aces and won 86 per cent of his first-serve points.
His next opponent, Djere, finished off a 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-1 victory against sixth seed Fabio Fognini. The Serbian led 2-0 in the third set when play was suspended on Wednesday.
Pablo Cuevas also advanced to the quarter-finals when he eliminated 18-year-old Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-2, 6-4. The Uruguayan veteran will next face fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov.
Shapovalov did well to shake off the disappointment of letting slip two match points against Rafael Nadal at his last tournament, the Internazionali BNL d'Italia in Rome. The World No. 15 will play Serbian Laslo Djere for a spot in the semi-finals.
[WATCH LIVE 1]
This match was supposed to be played Wednesday evening, but was pushed back due to rain. And once play began, Cecchinato showed some of the form that has helped him win three ATP Tour titles and reach the Roland Garros semi-finals in 2018.
Shapovalov, who is pursuing his second tour-level crown this week, dug into the Swiss clay and broke the World No. 104's serve three times across the final two sets to advance after two hours and 22 minutes. The Canadian hit 15 aces and won 86 per cent of his first-serve points.
His next opponent, Djere, finished off a 6-3, 6-7(2), 6-1 victory against sixth seed Fabio Fognini. The Serbian led 2-0 in the third set when play was suspended on Wednesday.
Pablo Cuevas also advanced to the quarter-finals when he eliminated 18-year-old Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-2, 6-4. The Uruguayan veteran will next face fourth seed Grigor Dimitrov.