Third seed Denis Shapovalov came within two points of losing on his Open Parc Auvergne-Rhone-Alpes Lyon debut on Wednesday, but fought back to beat Ugo Humbert of France 2-6, 7-6(3), 6-2 in two hours and 16 minutes. Humbert led by a set and 5-4, with Shapovalov serving at 30/30 before the #NextGenATP Canadian started his comeback for a place in the quarter-finals.
“I knew I was going into the match coming up against a very tough player, as he has played well all year,” said Shapovalov. “I have seen him a lot, and he has great potential. I wasn’t feeling it for a set-and-a-half, then once things clicked for me, I felt able to dictate the points and play better.”
Shapovalov will next meet France’s Benoit Paire, the Grand Prix Hassan II champion (d. Andujar) in April. Paire was a 6-4, 6-3 winner over Pablo Cuevas of Uruguay in 68 minutes and is now 9-3 on clay this season.
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Elsewhere, American Taylor Fritz reached his second ATP Tour quarter-final of the year (also the ASB Classic in Auckland) without hitting a ball when sixth-seeded French wild card Richard Gasquet withdrew ahead of their match due to back pain. Fritz awaits the winner of second-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut and Corentin Moutet, a French wild cardreadfullarticle
