Bester, Dancevic, Polansky, and Shapovalov advance to the quarter-finals
There will be four Canadians in the singles quarter-finals at the second edition of the $50,000 Drummondville National Bank Challenger. After Peter Polansky (Thornhill, ON) yesterday, Philip Bester (Vancouver, BC), Frank Dancevic (Niagara, Falls, ON), and Denis Shapovalov (Richmond Hill, ON) all booked their spots in the final eight on Thursday.
After knocking out Japan’s Yuichi Sugita, the tournament’s top seed, in the first round, Dancevic made it two in a row thanks to a 7-6(4), 6-3 victory over Chilean qualifier Nicolas Jarry. Twenty-year-old Jarry reached a career-high junior ranking of no. 8 and was a finalist at the National Bank International Junior Tennis Open in Repentigny in 2013. Dancevic has now won six of the seven matches he’s played in Drummondville after finishing as the runner up last year. He will next face Edward Corrie of Great Britain, a quarter-finalist in Sherbrooke and a semifinalist in Gatineau.
For his part, Bester defeated Spaniard Roberto Ortega-Olmedo 6-3, 7-6(4). The Vancouver native won 88 percent of his first serve points and saved all four break points he faced. Bester, who represented Canada in Davis Cup against France, will play fourth-seeded Brit Daniel Evans at 1 p.m. on Friday.
Lastly, 16-year-old Shapovalov upset second seeded American Austin Krajicek, ranked no. 101 in the world, 6-3, 7-5. The Canadian hit 13 aces in the match and lost only one point when his first serve went in. He will play Argentine Renzo Olivo for a spot in the semifinals. On Wednesday, Shapovalov became the first player born in 1999 to win a main draw match at a Challenger event. Last year at the Granby National Bank Challenger, Félix Auger-Aliassime became the first player born in the 2000s to win a main draw match at a Challenger.
