By Chris Oddo | Thursday February 7, 2019
Denis Shapovalov reached the quarterfinals on his Open Sud de France debut on Thurssay, powering past veteran Marcel Granollers of France, 6-4 7-6(1). Shapovalov put forth an extremely strong service performance against the 32-year-old, dropping only three of thirty-three points on first serve and never facing a break point in the one hour and 22 minute contest.
The 19-year-old Canadian, still searching for his first ATP final appearance, moves on to face France’s Pierre-Hugues Herbert in the next round.
Herbert took out Ilya Ivashka of Belarus 4-6 6-4 6-2 to book his first quarterfinal in Montpellier.
It has been a strong year for the Herbert, who just completed the career doubles Grand Slam at the Australian Open when he won the title with Nicolas Mahut. But Herbert is proving to be far more than a doubles specialist: he also reached the third round in singles at Melbourne and is playing at a career-high ranking of No.44 in the world.
He is expected to make his Top 40 debut with a win on Friday over Shapovalov.
Herbert joins compatriots Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Jeremy Chardy in the quarterfinals, but top-seeded Lucas Pouille was not so lucky.
The defending champion, who started the year with a semifinal appearance at the Australian Open, fell in the first hurdle on Thursday as he was edged by 33-year-old Marcos Baghdatis, 7-6(2) 6-7(3) 6-4.
There were 23 combined break points in this back-and-forth encounter with Baghdatis, who qualified for the main draw, holding his own down the stretch.
The Cypriot will face Moldova’s Radu Albot in the quarters. Albot eased past Ernests Gulbis in a strange match that saw the lights go out early in the second set, which caused a prolonged delay.
The quarterfinals at Montpellier shape up as follows: