Sunday is a special day in Canadian tennis history. Two Canadian tennis players will be in an ATP Final. In Austria, Denis Shapovalov of Toronto, Ontario is in the Vienna Open final against Daniil Medvedev of Russia. Meanwhile in Basel, Switzerland, Felix Auger-Aliassime of Montreal, Quebec is in the Swiss Indoor Final against Holger Rune of Denmark.
In Basel on Saturday, Auger-Aliassime upset the number one player in the world and 2022 United States Open champion, Carlos Alcaraz of Spain, 6-3, 6-2. The major reason for Auger-Aliassime’s win came down to the serve. Auger-Aliassime had nine aces and zero double faults. Alcaraz had zero aces and three double faults.
It was the third time that Auger-Aliassime has beaten Alcaraz in his career. Auger-Aliassime was victorious 6-3, 3-1 in the quarterfinals of the 2021 United States Open, and 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 in Davis Cup action last month in Spain. This will be the first time ever that Auger-Aliassime will face Rune.
In Vienna on Saturday, Shapovalov defeated Borna Coric of Croatia, 7-6, 6-0. Shapovalov had seven aces compared to two aces for Coric. Shapovalov also won 37 of 39 first serve points for an outstanding percentage of 95%.
Shapovalov is 2-3 all-time against Medvedev. Shapovalov’s wins came in the first round of the 2017 United States Open (7-5, 6-1, 6-2) and the second round of the 2018 Washington Open (3-6, 6-1, 6-4).
